


True or False

by Neveroutoftime



Series: True or False [1]
Category: Doctor Who & Related Fandoms, Doctor Who (2005)
Genre: Angst, Doppleganger ! Rose, Episode Fix-It: s02e13 Doomsday, F/M, Just a little bit of Angst, a whole lot of murder, but i felt a warning was necessary because, espECIALLY TOWARDS THE END, first twenty something chapters are okay, series two rewrite, there is blood, violence isn't too graphic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-07-06
Updated: 2017-08-11
Packaged: 2018-04-07 22:22:00
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 34
Words: 159,075
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4280103
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Neveroutoftime/pseuds/Neveroutoftime
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Amelia Pond wasn't the first of the Doctor's companions to be kidnapped and dopplegangered by Madam Kovarian. The first one was actually Rose Tyler many years before. Except, in Rose's case, her doppleganger is designed to not only pretend to be her, but to kill the Doctor. The ganger is ruthless, and a good actress, and as she traverses time and space with the Doctor, her desire to kill him only grows stronger as she waits for the order to kill. Starts at School Reunion and stops after Doomsday.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. A New Rose

**Demon's Run Asteroid, ten years before Amelia Pond's arrival....**

Throughout the halls of the base on Demon's Run echoed the sound of Madam Kovarian's heels. That morning she was particularly angry, her dark red lips were pursed together in the best of scowls, and her eyes were two slits on her face. No one dared to speak to her, for they knew if they said one word they'd feel her wrath. Absolutely no one wanted to be dead, no one.

"Move," She hissed at a guard standing in front of one of the base's many doors. He obeyed her command, and she quickly entered in a code on the key pad above the door knob. She secretly hoped that maybe one day the base would update the door system, and they'd simply have to slide a card through to get in the doors. Alas, there was no such thing. She quickly adjusted the silver eye patch she wore on her eye before she entered, feeling as if it were about to slip off of her face, and she'd forget everything she knew about Demon's Run.

As soon as the door closed behind her, she glanced at the scientists scattered amongst the room. "Madam," One of them said, acknowledging her presence with a nod. The woman didn't pay any mind to him, but instead walked to the center of the room where a pool of flesh colored liquid bubbled and rippled at the surface. A grin spread across her face, soon this wouldn't just be a pool of flesh, but it'd be a full grown person. A perfect replica of one of her greatest enemies. Actually, it was her second greatest enemy, the first being the Doctor- whom she'd hated for as long as she could remember- and this second person? Rose Tyler, his companion.

When Madam Kovarian turned to her left she was greeted by the sight of another scientist writing on a clip board, and she discreetly looked over his shoulder at what he'd written. However, before she could see anything, he snatched the clipboard to his side, "Sorry, ma'am, but it's nothing that would interest you." He muttered. 

She frowned, "I'm sure you know that as a woman in my position, everything is important to me."

He glanced at her, and let out an exasperated sigh, "Well, ma'am, so far the flesh appears to be ready for replication, but…"

"But what?"

He sighed, "We don't have the girl just yet, ma'am, in order for us to create the Ganger, we need her," He said quietly.

"Don't worry about that, some of our men have just gone to collect the girl, she'll be here by tonight."

"But…"

"But what?"

Upon seeing the intense glare on Madam Kovarian's face, the scientist quickly put on a smile, "But nothing, we'll prepare to bring it into human form tonight," He said quickly. 

She smiled back at him, but hers was a grim smile, one of someone who wasn't truly satisfied. "That's what I was hoping to hear." She then turned on her heels, and left the room.

The scientists all let out a collective breath of relief, "The Devil has left the room," One of them commented. Almost all of them let out a quiet chuckle before resuming their work.

Meanwhile…

**Earth, 2006 CE.**

Rose Tyler stepped out of the TARDIS carrying a rather heavy bag of laundry, and blinking into the sunlight. "You were wrong about the weather," She told the man behind her, "It's not cloudy at all! Not a cloud in the sky!"

She heard a groan behind her, and then the sound of the TARDIS doors shutting. "Well, I suppose that could've been the forecast for next Tuesday. Or tomorrow judging by the humidity," the voice, which belonged to the Doctor, said. Rose shook her head and laughed at him, it always amused her when he was wrong for some reason. Perhaps she just took pleasure in seeing that he wasn't always right, that not everything he did was perfect just because he wasn't human.

"Come on, I've got a load of clothes to wash and my mum's expecting to see me in two minutes!" She exclaimed, walking faster as she carried the laundry bag, which had to have weighed ten pounds at least. Funny, Rose thought, thinking of how she didn't have that many clothes, yet her bag was nearly overflowing with them. Perhaps it was time to invest in a new laundry bag.

Rose looked over her shoulder as she neared the Powell estate, and saw the Doctor running to catch up with her. Apparently, he'd stayed behind a moment longer to look at the rather blue sky. "Wait!" He called out to her. 

She laughed, "I've always wanted to hear you say that!"

The Doctor grinned at her as he caught up, "Sorry, I was-"

"Looking at the sky, I know," Rose teased, cautiously nudging his arm so as not to spill the contents of her bag onto the gravel.

The Doctor frowned, "Do you need some help with that?" He asked. 

She shook her head, "Nah, I've got it. Sides' if I let you take it my mum would never stop teasing us about being a couple."

"Good point."

They walked the rest of the way to Jackie Tyler's flat in silence, their hands occasionally brushing against one another as they hung limply at their sides- though Rose only had one free hand, the other was being used to support her hold on the bag- and small smiles on their faces.

Within minutes they'd reached the flat, and Rose tapped on the door, "Mum! It's me!" She shouted. 

It wasn't two seconds later that a rather nicely dressed Jackie Tyler opened the door with a dramatic sigh, "You're late!" She shouted at Rose. 

The blonde raised a confused eyebrow, "What do you mean, 'late'? It's Tuesday, and you said-"

"Last Tuesday, Rose. You were supposed to be here last Tuesday."

"…Oh…"

The Doctor cleared his throat, "Sorry, that would be my fault, Jackie."

Rose's mum shrugged, "It's fine, she's safe, all in one piece, and alive. That's all I care about, not that I like the fact that you two are constantly running around the universe. Never have, never will, all I can do is accept it." She then stepped aside, and allowed the waiting pair to come in.

As she passed her mother, Rose noticed for the first time the formality of her outfit. She was wearing a necklace with a single pearl resting in the collar bone, her hair was curled, her makeup was done rather nicely, and she wore a midnight blue dress that hung loosely on her shoulders. "Whoa, look at you! Who're you dressing like that for?" She asked. 

Jackie looked down, "I've got a date with Howard again, so far it seems to be working out. Do ya think he'll like it?"

Rose nodded, "Oh he's gonna love it, you look gorgeous," She said pressing herself against the wall as the Doctor slid past the two of them, and stood on the other side of Rose, who tapped him lightly. 

"What?" he asked. Rose simply gestured towards Jackie, and then he caught on. "Yes, Jackie you look absolutely lovely."

Jackie laughed, "You don't have to compliment me." She said leading them into the living room. The Doctor and Rose sat on the sofa, while Jackie sat on a kitchen chair that happened to be standing near her. "So, Howard's gonna be here to pick me up in about five minutes. If you two want to stick around her for a while then feel free to take some jammy dodgers, I've got way too many of them from last weekend's movie night. Also, Rose? The dryer's broken, so you'll have to hang dry everything unless mister I have two of everything is willing to fix it for me."

"I do not have two of everything!"

"Well how am I supposed to know that?"

"Oi! You two, knock it off," Rose said intervening, "Why don't we just try to fix the dryer? It'll make this whole clothing thing a whole lot easier." 

The Doctor hesitated before he replied, not quite sure of what he was going to say. "Well, couldn't we just do it in the TARDIS? I'm sure she's got a laundry room somewhere," He muttered. 

Rose scowled at him, "No, no we can't, I'm washing them here because it gives me a good purpose to visit my mum, who misses me whenever I'm gone. If there is anything we'll be needing from the TARDIS, it's tools so we can fix the bloody thing."

The Doctor's face pinched in a slight pout before he gave in, "Fine, I'll go get the-" He was interrupted by the sound of someone knocking on the door, and he quickly gave up on trying to finish his sentence. 

The door creaked as Jackie opened it again, and gave a loud "hello!" to Howard. At the same time, Rose's mouth emitted a sound that slightly resembled that of someone vomiting, which caused the Doctor to laugh quietly into his left hand.

"What? It's weird watching mum be all romantic and stuff!" She exclaimed, putting her hands up in a defensive position.

The Doctor shrugged, "I can't say I know the feeling," he mumbled as Jackie returned to the living room with Howard in tow.

"Doctor this is Howard, Howard this is…" Her voice faltered when she realized she had no idea what to call him. 

Luckily, he cut in for her, "Doctor Smith, John Smith." He said standing up and shaking Howard's hand. 

"Hello," the tall, thin man said in reply, "Is he your… cousin?"

Jackie shook her head, "No he's a friend slash co-worker of my daughter's. They do a lot of traveling, they're never around much," She replied. 

Howard briefly acknowledged this new information before turning to Jackie, "Well, what do you say we head out to dinner? I've got reservations for us tonight, can't tell ya where," His voice dropped to a whisper towards the end. 

Rose suddenly found herself extremely uncomfortable in the small flat, and leaned a little closer to the Doctor. She watched as Jackie gave Howard a quick nod before turning to the Doctor and her daughter, "No funny business you two. I don't want to come home to a flat full of dal-"

The Doctor gave Jackie a slight glare as she realized what she was about to say, "Don't worry Jackie, when you come back, the flat will be just as it was except you'll have a working dryer," He told her with another smile. 

Rose nodded in agreement, "Couldn't have said it better."

Jackie beamed at both of them, "Thank you both," She said as Howard began to pull her towards the door, "I'll see you tonight Rose!" She shouted as she was led out the door. 

"See ya!" Rose cried as the door shut, then she turned to the Doctor, and at the same time, they both folded their fingers into fists and said, "Yes!"

"Not that I don't love my mum, but alone time while at home doesn't happen very often these days," Rose whispered. She looked up at the Doctor, who was still grinning, but this time at her. "What?" She asked. 

He shook his head, "Nothing, let's get to that dryer, shall we?" He asked.

Rose groaned as he walked past her towards the laundry room, "I'm not a very good mechanic!" She protested. 

"I can teach you!" He shouted back.

**Just outside the TARDIS, two blocks away from the Powell Estate, 2006.**

Several men in military dress sat waiting in some bushes behind the TARDIS, not a sound was uttered from any of them. They were so quiet that they could almost hear their own hearts beating. The silence was interrupted by a light breeze a moment later which rustled the leaves of the bushes surrounding them. It was the first time in the twenty minutes since they'd arrived that they'd heard any sound that wasn't part of their own bodily functions.

It didn't affect their still postures though, they stayed still as they'd been ordered to do until Rose Tyler came back to the TARDIS. Until then they were to wait. Until then each and every one of the men was a ticking time bomb of pure intent.

In the minutes before they left, some of them had been worried about what they'd do if the Doctor came along with Rose in her return to the TARDIS, but their worries had been cast away when Madam Kovarian simply told them to shoot him. With grim smiles on their faces, each of the men had gladly marched off into battle, prepared for anything the oncoming storm and the bad wolf had for them.

**The Powell Estate, 2006**

The Doctor and Rose had practically taken apart the dryer in their efforts to fix it, but their efforts were futile. Even the Doctor was confused by the broken machine, "I can fix a TARDIS, but I can't fix a bloody dryer, I am a useless time lord," He said dramatically flopping onto the floor. 

Rose laughed and smacked him with a dust towel, "No you're not, you're just not very good with some Earth technology that's all,"

He looked up at her, and sighed, "This would be much easier if we had the tools from the TARDIS," he mumbled. 

Rose nodded, "Yeah, it would, you want me to go get them?" She asked.

"But, you don't know where they are, Rose."

"Then tell me. Honestly, you could make more progress up here while I'm gone than I could while you're gone."

"Alright then, it's in a room just down the hall from yours on the left. The door's TARDIS blue, hard to miss, hope you find it, but if you don't the ship should lead you straight to it," He explained, handing her one of the flashlights they'd been using to examine the machine.

"Thanks," She breathed, heading for the front door.

Just as she was reaching her hand out for the door, he stopped her, "Rose!"

"What?" She asked, turning around to face his general direction. The sound of the dryer's parts being shifted about rang throughout the flat as the Doctor stood up, and walked towards her. When he emerged into her line of sight, she tried not to laugh at the piece of white Styrofoam that had found its way into his spiky hair. "What's wrong?" She asked, managing not to laugh at him somehow.

He sighed, "Just be careful, okay?" his eyes were dead serious, and full of concern. 

Rose nodded, "I'll be fine. What's the worst thing that could happen?" She asked casually opening the door to leave. 

He shrugged, "Nothing, I suppose," He replied as she left the flat.

A few minutes later Rose was fast approaching the TARDIS, her right hand was clutching the key that hung around her neck tightly, as if it was her lifeline. A light gust of wind blew her hair out behind her as she walked underneath the darkening sky. It was almost twilight by the time she reached the ship's doors, and inserted her key into the lock.

Suddenly, she felt as if she were being watched, and she turned around as she opened the TARDIS doors, but she saw nothing. She swallowed nervously as she stepped inside the brightly lit time machine, and closed the door behind her, her hands shaking. "That was weird," She mumbled to herself. It was probably just an animal out there, scavenging for food in the field behind the Powell Estate.

Freshly reassured that she was in no danger, Rose proceeded down the hallway, towards the TARDIS blue doors the Doctor had described to her minutes earlier. It took her a moment, but she found it just two doors down from her bedroom. Rose let out a sigh of relief as she turned the knob, and pushed it open. Inside, there were dozens of shelves of various supplies. A wave of worry washed over her as she realized that the Doctor hadn't mentioned which shelf it was on, or any shelf for that matter. "But he did say that the TARDIS would lead me straight to it…" She said aloud, turning on the flashlight and aiming it at the first shelf in front of her.

The Doctor's tool kit (earth edition) was on the third shelf on her right, and it even read in big, bold letters "Tool kit, Earth edition". Rose had a little laugh at the tool kit's ridiculous title before she grabbed it, and headed back the way she came, out of the TARDIS, and back to her mum's flat.

She confidently strode out of the doors of the TARDIS with the tool kit in her right hand, and the keys in her left. As she locked the TARDIS doors, she heard the sound of a branch snapping nearby, and she swung her head around to face the bushes, "Alright, play time's over! Who's there?" She asked the dark silhouettes of the bushes in front of her. No response, "I know you're out there, quit mucking about and show yourself."

This time, she got a response, but not exactly one she'd been hoping for. She'd been hoping it was just some twelve year old boys spying on her, or perhaps Mickey making a surprise entrance. There was nothing in the universe that could have prepared her for this many men with futuristic looking guns pointed directly at her with such an intensity that she was forced to step back far enough that her back was pressed against the TARDIS. Her heart beat faster inside of her chest as she stared out at the men, and her breathing turned into panting, "Wh-What do you want?" She asked.

One of the paler soldiers stepped forward, the name tag on his breast pocket read: Sarofsky, "We need you to come with us, don't make a sound, don't protest, and no one gets hurt," He announced. 

Rose quickly regained her composure, "Why?" She asked, "Why do you need me?"

"It was our orders to come and retrieve you from the Powell Estate in this year, on this date, and at this location," Sarofsky replied in a monotonous tone.

Rose could feel her body betraying her again, she was about five seconds away from a panic attack, "Y-You didn't answer my question!" She exclaimed.

The men all looked at each other, "Grab her!" One of them shouted, and they all began to close in on Rose, whose eyes widened in fear. However, as the first soldier reached her, she seemed to choose the fight response, and she elbowed him in the nose before running away from the TARDIS. They chased after her, each of them firing up their guns as they ran, "Stop!" Sarofsky called, "Stop running!"

Remembering that the men were armed, Rose stopped, and turned to face them. A tear slowly streaked its way down her cheek, and got itself caught in a strand of her now tangled hair. The men quickly surrounded her again, and aimed their weapons at her vital organs. She let out a sigh, "Fine, but before you take me you're going to tell me what the hell you want with me!" She snapped at them.

"That information is classified," said a soldier, who carried a needle in his left hand as he walked towards Rose, "But you'll find out when we get there." 

Before Rose could ask where, the soldier stuck the needle into her arm, and she immediately began to feel drowsy, "No…" she mumbled weakly as she slipped into unconsciousness.

**Demons Run asteroid, many light years away…**

Madam Kovarian's face was twisted into a sickening smile as she walked around the two cots. One of them held Rose Tyler, the Bad Wolf, the companion to the Doctor, and quite possibly his lover. The other held a flesh copy of Rose, whose appearance resembled the blonde's right down to the brown roots in her hair.

The scientist she'd been speaking to earlier, Doctor James Smeade, was taking notes on a clipboard that was attached by a string to real Rose's bed, "So far, both of them appear healthy, we'll just have to see how well the copy does when she's far away from the real one," He observed.

Madam Kovarian shook her head, "No, she'll do fine, we've tested many gangers before, and they've done well even if they were on the other side of the universe from the person they're copied from."

Doctor Smeade nodded, "Alright then, we'll skip testing, and I'll retrieve Rose's clothing from the back room."

His boss gave a smile of approval, "Good work, Smeade," She said. 

"Thank you, Madam," He replied putting down the clipboard and heading into the back room. 

As soon as he was gone she leaned down over the fake Rose and whispered, "Wake up." Immediately her eyes opened, and she gasped as she took in a breath of air, and sat up.

"Do you know who I am?" Madam Kovarian asked.

Fake Rose nodded, "You're Madam Kovarian, you work to kill the Doctor and all of his allies."

"Very good. Do you know what purpose you were created for?"

"Yes, you created me to-"

At that moment Doctor Smeade came back into the room carrying a plastic container that held Real Rose's clothing. Kovarian looked up at him angrily, but he didn't seem to notice as he presented the Fake Rose with the clothing. "Put it on." He commanded her. 

Fake Rose smiled kindly at him, and opened the container. As she removed the clothing Madam Kovarian turned to the real Rose Tyler, and gently touched her arm as well, "Wake up," She whispered softly.

The Real Rose woke up in a similar manner to the Fake Rose, the only difference was she didn't stay silent, "Where am I?" She asked, "Where have you taken me?" there was fear in her eyes as she looked rapidly around the room. 

"You're on Demons Run asteroid, quite a few thousand light years away from Earth," Kovarian responded blatantly. Rose's rapidly wandering eyes centered on her, and she grinned, secretly delighted to have caught the blonde's attention.

"Who are you?" Rose asked looking around the room once more, this time her eyes landing on Fake Rose, whose back was to her, "And who the hell's that?" She asked. Now that Rose was fully awake, she could see that the blonde on the cot beside her was putting on her favorite purple graphic t-shirt and jeans.

"That's you, Rose Tyler." Kovarian's voice rang again in Real Rose's ears. 

Real Rose shook her head, "No, it can't be, there's only one me in the universe, if there's two of us in here, it's a paradox!" She exclaimed.

Kovarian chuckled, "She's smart too, Rose, take notes from her." 

She gestured to the blonde behind her, who turned around as she put on Rose's sneakers, "Oh I will, but in the information you put in my head, you said that you were going to lock her up somewhere. How will I take notes from her then?" She asked looking Real Rose in the eyes and waving with a smirk on her face.

"You have everything you need to know about Rose in here," Kovarian said placing her fingers on Fake Rose's temples, "And you'll be mentally linked to Rose the entire time she's here with us, which will likely be for a while."

Real Rose laughed, "Like hell I will," She muttered angrily, "I'm leaving right now, and I'm going to go find the Doctor." She then attempted to swing her legs over the edge of the cot, and failed due to an anonymous object obstructing their path to the ground. "What the…?" She looked down, and saw that her feet were chained to the bed, the panic spread anew throughout her body as she looked down at her wrists, and saw she was chained to the bed there as well. There was also a needle stuck into her arm, connecting her to a container of some sort of liquid. A choked noise escaped her mouth as she looked up at Kovarian, "Why are you doing this?" She asked.

The woman's dark red coated lips spread into another wicked grin, "I needed you in order to create the flesh copy of you. Then I programmed orders into the flesh's brain, orders that I have long worked to fulfill, and orders that will at last be obeyed."

"What are the orders?"

Fake Rose suddenly stood up, and turned a dial on the container of liquid by Real Rose's bed, "To kill the Doctor," She replied. 

"You won't kill him, he'll outwit you, he's smarter than you, and he'll know it's a fake."

Fake Rose let out a laugh, "No he won't, I'm exactly the same as you are, right down to the mole in your right armpit. He will never know the difference, not ever. If he does, it'll be too late because the day he figures it out is the day that he dies."

In that moment, Real Rose could feel the dizziness take over, she was seconds away from passing out, and there was nothing she could do. "You're… wrong…" She whispered before she felt her consciousness slip away.


	2. Roses have Thorns

School Reunion.

**A field outside the Powell Estate, 2006**

The fake Rose had been on Earth no more than five minutes, and already she despised it. The oxygen was a bit too thick for her liking, and where she was standing it smelled like a dumpster. Fortunately, she was nowhere near a dumpster, but she was standing in a rather large field. The grass around her feet was a brownish green, indicating that it was the beginning of spring in whatever year she'd landed in.

"Great," She muttered to herself, "springtime." She then walked in the direction of the white building she'd been told was the Powell Estate, where Rose lived, thinking about the many ways which it was possible to kill the Doctor. She could drown him, but he'd regenerate. Shoot him? He'd regenerate. Shoot him while regenerating? Now that was possible, but there was no glory in that death. If there was one belief she did not share with Madam Kovarian, it was that the Doctor shouldn't be killed in a manner which left them no time to say his goodbyes. Unlike her boss, she had a glimmer of respect for the man she was about to kill. Perhaps that was just a characteristic she'd developed from Rose.

No, it wasn't just a characteristic she'd developed from Rose, because she was Rose now. Fake Rose made a decision, from that moment on, she wouldn't call herself "fake Rose," but instead she would simply call herself, "Rose." The thought of her new name put a grin on her face as she approached a clearing in the field of grass, and the TARDIS came into her line of sight.

The box of tools that real- other Rose had been carrying earlier -according to the memories Rose had access to- lay tilted against the ship, waiting to be picked up again. Rose gently approached it, and picked it up, trying to remember what it was for. That's when it came to her, like some sort of freaky vision.

_"This would be much easier if we had the tools from the TARDIS," The Doctor mumbled from the left side of the dryer. The other Rose nodded, "Yeah, it would, you want me to go get them?" She asked._

_"But, you don't know where they are, Rose."_

_"Then tell me. Honestly, you could make more progress up here while I'm gone than I could while you're gone."_

_"Alright then, it's in a room just down the hall from yours on the left. The door's TARDIS blue, hard to miss, hope you find it, but if you don't the ship should lead you straight to it,"_

_That's why it's there! Rose thought_ , feeling slightly happier with this realization. She looked down at it once more before resuming her walk towards the Powell Estate, and towards the Doctor.

**Jackie Tyler's flat later that evening.**

The Doctor had been sitting alone with his head resting against the dryer for about ten minutes now, wondering just how long it was going to take Rose to find the bloody tool kit. He was beginning to get concerned, for she'd been gone fifteen minutes longer than he thought would be necessary to get from the Powell Estate to the TARDIS, and back. However, every time he felt this way, he would simply reassure himself that the ship was just making it difficult for Rose to find the room, or he'd deleted it at some point and forgotten.

_She's probably in trouble,_ he thought, _I should probably go get her. But, no, she's fine, she will continue to be fine, and everything's alright._

He let out a deep breath as he pushed his worries aside, and pulled his sonic screwdriver out of his pocket. The time lord let his hands fiddle with its buttons as if they had a mind of their own, and he accidentally unscrewed several of the nails on the door knob in the process. Whoops.

Seconds later, Rose walked in, and he felt a huge sense of relief wash over him as he stood up to greet her. "Where've you been?" He asked, "I was starting to get worried!"

She smiled sympathetically at him, "Sorry, I got lost in the TARDIS," She replied, "Did you make any progress on mum's dryer?" He looked at the machine, and shook his head.

"That's unfortunate, but now we have this, so hopefully that'll make it easier," She said beaming with pride. The Doctor grinned as she handed it to him, and he couldn't help but notice that there was a new confidence in Rose as she spoke to him. Not that she hadn't always been confident, but it was never as strong as it was in this moment.

Ignoring his thoughts about Rose, he bent over, and began to really work on fixing that broken dryer.

Behind his back, Rose's eyes searched the floor for any weapons she could use on him to get the job done quickly. The urge to kill was strong, and becoming overwhelming. Frankly, she found it frightening. The only thing Madam Kovarian had told her to kill was the Doctor, which meant her brain was hard wired to kill. Her only worry now was that she'd feel the urge again when she was around someone who was not the Doctor, and then she'd kill an innocent.

That would make her feel just as guilty as the Real Rose would. In fact, she'd be overwhelmed by the guilt... Or would she? She wasn't entirely sure what kind of person she was. All she knew was that there was a bloodlust inside of her waiting to be relieved.

Suddenly, Rose's eyes landed on a wrench the Doctor had used to open the side of the dryer, and her hand drifted towards it as if it had a mind of its own. The urge to kill burned like a fire in Rose's veins, for she was one step closer to killing him. She knew that simply striking him with the wrench would not do much, perhaps it would knock him out, but only temporarily. Killing him would be much harder.

Slowly, Rose lifted the wrench above the Doctor's head, and prepared to strike. Her eyes stared intently at the spot in the back of his head where his occipital lobe was located. At the very least, she'd cause him to lose his vision. That is, if Time Lords had occipital lobes in that area of their brains at all.

However at the last second, before she could strike him, he turned around. "Oh, thanks, I was looking for that," He said, oblivious to her stare. 

Rose quickly shifted her position to a much more relaxed one, "Yeah, thought you might need it," She replied as he took it from her hands. As he began to work once again, she wondered the reason as to why he hadn't questioned her appearance. Either he hadn't noticed it- which was unlikely, she made it pretty damn obvious-, or he didn't want to.

Either way, Rose was going to have to be more careful around him. If he noticed she was trying to kill him, and figured out what had happened, she was going to die. Most likely by Kovarian's hand.

Speaking of killing and dying… Rose's urge to kill was growing stronger, but she knew now that she couldn't kill him. It wasn't the right moment. _Right now is not the time, she told herself, not for him at least._

Rose cleared her throat, "I'm gonna get some fresh air, it's all dusty in here," She muttered, coughing for emphasis.

The Doctor looked up at her, "Don't go too far, alright?" He asked. 

She nodded, and gave him a reassuring smile, "Alright." She then left the room swiftly, not hesitating or looking back.

As soon as Rose was out of the flat she felt a wave of relief wash over her, the bloodlust was still strong, but it wasn't overwhelming. She leaned back against the wall, and took a series of deep breaths. _Calm down,_ she thought, _you won't make it a day if you go on like this_. She still wasn't calming down, her desire to kill was too much.

This was the one flaw in Madam Kovarian's seemingly perfect plan, Rose was perfectly alike the other Rose in every way, but she was designed to kill. That was the one thing Kovarian hadn't thought of. She had programmed Rose so she'd be focused on one thing, killing. This was a task that was only intended for the Doctor, she'd told Rose. However, the blonde was positive she was lying, and she didn't care about other lives, so she made sure that Rose wouldn't hesitate to knock down anyone that was in her way. She made sure that Rose couldn't resist the opportunity to kill. And right now, she was like an addict who hadn't had a fix in two days. She was going insane without killing.

Some time passed as she stood against the wall, but it couldn't have been more than five minutes before she heard footsteps approaching her. "No, oh please no," She whispered, turning her gaze towards the sound.

Sure enough, her neighbor, Reyna Stalls, was walking straight towards her with grocery bags in her hands. There was a visible expression of exhaustion on her face, and a bead of sweat making its way down her forehead as she inserted her key into the lock on her front door. All of Rose's attempts to repress her killing desires faded away in that moment and she pushed herself off the wall, ready to kill. She approached her neighbor cautiously, in the manner that other Rose would, and gave a slight, "A-hem," before Reyna opened her door.

Rose's neighbor turned around slowly, and smiled, "Oh, hello Rose. My goodness it's been a while hasn't it?" She asked kindly, brushing a strand of red hair behind her ear. 

Rose laughed, "Yeah, it has. How've you been?" She asked in response.

"I've been good, wonderful actually. Since you've been gone I've gotten married," She said waving a ring fingered hand in front of Rose's face, "and I've also gotten myself involved with a little company called Torchwood. Interesting job, nothing too serious, but it keeps the money coming in."

"Hmm… Sounds lovely. Would you like some help with those? Couldn't help but notice that you're beginning to sweat."

Reyna looked beyond relieved to have Rose's help, and quickly nodded, "Oh my god, yes!" She exclaimed handing Rose two of her seven bags. 

Rose raised an eyebrow questioningly, "Oh, come now, I'm sure I can handle more than two," She said. 

Reyna sighed, "Rose Tyler, you're a doll," She replied, handing Rose one more bag before at last opening her door, and inviting Rose in.

The blonde smiled as she walked into the flat, and towards Reyna's kitchen. The other woman was quick to follow, and she set her grocery bags down besides Rose's. "Thank you so much, Rose. I know we don't know each other particularly well, so I really appreciate your help," She breathed, and then she grinned.

Rose returned the smile, but hers dropped faster than Reyna's because she could feel the bloodlust growing even stronger than it had before she'd seen her neighbor walking down the hallways. Ignoring it for the moment, she removed a loaf of bread from one of the bags, and stashed it in the pantry which happened to be right next to Reyna's kitchen knife holder.

Slowly, Rose reached down, and grabbed the handle of one of the knives as Reyna began to talk about something she wasn't listening to. She didn't care. Her mind was so focused on killing Reyna that she didn't care what she was saying at that point. Her heart began to race with anticipation of the kill, and her vision tinted red.

"… and then I thought why don't I do the grocery shopping tonight…"

Rose slowly approached her victim from behind, her eyes focused on the location of Reyna's spinal cord. That was where she'd cut, where she'd surely kill her.

"… but then I got these weird feelings, and I started craving pickles with honey mustard on them…"

Rose still wasn't listening as she lifted the knife to kill, and drove the knife into a swan dive into the direction of Reyna's back.

"… and then I was in the store when I got the results back, they were positive, I'm-"

Reyna's sentence didn't end the way she thought it would, instead, it ended with a sudden gasp as everything around her was suddenly white hot, and nothing but pain radiated throughout her body. The pain was like the most intense fire she could imagine, burning through everything it touched, and causing the life to fade from her eyes. Then it all stopped, and it was quiet. Reyna couldn't feel a thing.

Not even when Rose stabbed the knife into her back ten more times.  
~~~

**Jackie Tyler's Flat…**

The Doctor's head snapped up as soon as he heard the sound of Rose's footsteps when she came through the door. "Oh, thank god you're back, I was beginning to get worried again," He said standing up and walking towards the front door, "You've been gone long enough for me to have completely fixed the dryer! It's working and running a load right now!"

His companion smiled brightly, "That's wonderful! Sorry I was gone for so long, it's just, I'm really upset that I missed the date that I was supposed to see my mum," She said, the lie well hidden in her voice.

He chuckled, "Don't worry about it, Jackie's perfectly fine with it, and it's not like we can go back and fix our mistake," He told her. 

Rose sighed, and put a hand on his arm, "Oh, I know that, but I just can't stand seeing the sadness in her eyes. She thinks that I've forgotten about her, that I've put my traveling with you over my love for her."

"Does she really think that?"

"I'm pretty sure she does."

"Well," he said, licking his lips and smiling coyly, "We'll just have to change that won't we?"

"What do you mean?"

"Tell her what you've just told me," He whispered, "Then you let your mum know that no matter how long you're gone-"

"I'll always care about her?"

"Exactly."

This whole conversation was about to make Rose vomit with how incredibly stupid and cheesy it was. Perhaps it was because she was unable to love to the degree that other Rose was, and perhaps it was her burning desire to kill him right then.

Instead of giving into her desires, however, Rose feigned a smile, "That's brilliant, and definitely worth a try."

Suddenly, the bloodlust became strong again, and a new idea popped into her head. Something Madam Kovarain had told her just before she'd left Demon's Run, and something that would cure her urge to vomit.

_"You should be aware that everything you see, Rose sees," Kovarian told her as she handed her a vortex manipulator. Rose nodded as she strapped it tightly to her wrist, "So if I punch someone, Rose sees me punch someone?" She asked._

_Kovarian nodded, "Yes, and she will absorb your guilt, she will take most of the blame for it. The only remorse you'll feel will be hers, not yours since you two are connected."_

_"What about other feelings? What about love?"_

_"If Rose loves someone, you will not love them as intensely as she does, but you will know who she loves, and who she does not. This should be a major help in destroying the Doctor."_

At the time, Rose hadn't understood what Kovarian had been saying, but now she did. Now she knew how the other Rose felt about the Doctor. The bloodlust rose in her again, but this time her motivations were not to kill, but to torture, to cause pain to the other Rose.

She quickly reached her hands up to the Doctor's face, and before he could even process what was happening she planted her lips onto his, and kissed him. She could feel the shock radiating off of him as he tried to process how to react to this. As she pulled away, she felt the slightest sense of agony somewhere in the back of her head, and she knew that the other Rose had seen everything.

"Wha…?" The Doctor mumbled quietly as he tried to pull himself together. 

"Sorry," Rose uttered out with a sheepish smile, "I…I should probably go to bed now… I'm exhausted and I am not thinking straight." 

He nodded slowly, "Right, of course, and don't-don't worry about it," He said as she walked past him, and towards her bedroom.

As soon as he heard the door slam, he touched his fingers to his lips gingerly, and laughed, "Despite the fact that that was extremely weird and out of character for her, she's a really good kisser when she's not possessed by Cassandra," He told himself before heading towards a room in the flat where he could get some sleep of his own, after all, it had been a long time since he'd had any sleep.


	3. School Reunion: Mickey's Theory

**Demon's Run Asteroid…**

Madame Kovarian paced slowly around the little pod where Rose was being kept, watching her chest rise and fall as she breathed. The medical team flitted about all around her, each of them waiting for some kind of order from the incredibly silent woman.

She gently leaned down, and opened the little door that was strategically placed above Rose's face. "She's asleep," She whispered to the girl, "You can wake up now,"

Suddenly, Rose's eyes opened, and she let out a loud gasp as she attempted to sit up, but was unable to due to the fact that she was bound to the bed by metal cuffs. From the monitors on the near side of the room, Kovarian could tell that Rose's heart rate had increased rapidly. She looked down at Rose, "How are you feeling, dear?" She asked, her dark red lips forming a sickening smile.

Rose looked at her in confusion, a look that quickly faded as the memories of the previous day came flooding back to her, "Let me go!" She shouted, struggling against the metal cuffs, "Please!"

Kovarian just laughed at her, "Oh, but you see my dear, we can't do that. You're important to the task at hand," She hissed.

Rose shook her head, "If you hurt him," She said through her teeth, "I'll bloody kill you."

"Then there wouldn't be much of a difference between you and your doppelganger would there?"

The blonde in the pod fell silent, and Kovarian began to speak again, "This is the last time you will wake until the ganger completes her mission," She told Rose, "Believe me, my dear, you'd better enjoy it while it lasts, because in five minutes you're going back under. The only reason you're awake right now is because I need to deliver a message to your ganger – she's listening in on this conversation right now – I need her to know that if she doesn't control her blood lust, she'll be caught."

Rose felt a tear streak down her cheek, she could remember how helpless she felt when she watched her ganger kill the young, pregnant Reyna without a single hint of remorse. She'd wanted to scream, in fact, she'd tried several times when it happened.

_"Stop!" Rose cried as she watched her hands- the ganger's hands grip the knife. "Please, no!" Her breathing quickened as the ganger brought the knife high over her own head, and began to swan dive it towards Reyna's back._

_"Turn around!"_

_"Stop her!"_

_"No!"_

_"Stop!"_

Several incoherent sobs left Rose's throat as the knife plunged into Reyna's back. Rose desperately attempted to look away, but she couldn't. She wasn't even in control over her own body. Someone else had taken the wheel, and forced her to kill.

When Reyna fell to the ground, every curse word in Rose's vocabulary flew out of her mouth at once as she screamed at the ganger. _I hate this bitch,_ Rose thought, _I hate her._

Rose spat in Madame Kovarian's face, and grinned at the woman's suddenly pinched features, "I'm sure the devil got your message, ma'am," She growled.

Kovarian turned to the nearest doctor, who was working on putting some sort of liquid into a syringe, "Put her back under," She hissed, "Now!"

The woman immediately squeaked out a quiet, "Yes ma'am!" before sliding the syringe into Rose's arm, "I'm sorry," She whispered. 

Rose shook her head, "It's okay," She replied as the drugs began to take a hold of her mind.

"Good luck, Doctor," She breathed, then she fell under the spell of the drug.

**Jackie Tyler's flat, eight o' clock in the morning…**

The ganger version of Rose awoke surrounded by pink. Pink bedsheets, pink walls, a pink chair in the far right corner of the room, and pink pillows. It was far too much pink, but for some reason – which she suspected had something to do with her being linked to the real Rose – she didn't mind it. In fact, she almost liked it.

She smiled, and sank further into the mattress, which was actually quite comfortable, "I could get used to this," She breathed, fingering at the beam of light that shone through her window, letting its warmth touch her newly formed fingers.

Suddenly, she heard a rumbling sound come from her stomach, and she looked down in brief confusion before remembering that this was a sign of hunger. Apparently she had to eat before she killed the Doctor. "Well, let's eat then, Rose," She said, speaking this time to the Rose who was imprisoned on Demon's Run.

Slowly, Rose swung her legs out of bed, and rolled her head around on her neck. She still felt sleep clinging to her body, causing her to let out a groan as she walked towards her bedroom door. The first thing she saw when she opened it was the Doctor's grinning face. Oh, how she wanted to stab him right then and there, if only she had a weapon.

"Good morning, Rose Tyler!" He shouted, causing her to cover her ears. A frown appeared on his face, and she smiled in satisfaction, a smile he probably mistook for joy. 

She was simply happy to have caused him pain, "Good morning, Doctor," She muttered, pushing past him, and heading straight for the tea cup that was waiting for her on her counter. He followed her, and sat down in a chair behind her.

"What're we doing today?" She asked him, actually curious as to what the day's events were.

The Doctor held up her cellphone, "Mickey called about an hour ago," He replied, "He thinks something's up at a nearby school, can't remember the name, wasn't really listening, but it was something about all the staff leaving and being replaced by a lot of strange newcomers. I think it could be worth checking out, but it's probably nothing."

Rose nodded slowly, and sipped her tea. It was the perfect temperature, tasted amazing, and it almost made her consider abandoning her mission just so that she could have tea like that every morning. If the Doctor were dead, that wouldn't happen.

"Stop being ridiculous," She told herself under her breath.

"What was that?" The Doctor asked, looking up at her.

She shook her head, "Nothing," She muttered, "I'm just waking up still. Don't feel like dealing with Mickey at this moment."

The Doctor frowned, "Are you alright, Rose?" He asked, standing up, and moving towards her.

Rose simply laughed at him, "Of course I'm alright!" She exclaimed, "Why wouldn't I be?"

He sighed, "Well, you've been acting strangely ever since you came back from the TARDIS last night," He replied, "And you haven't even noticed that your mum's gone." He pointed to Jackie Tyler's open bedroom door. Rose calmly set her cup of tea down, and walked over to the only other bedroom in the flat.

The first thing Rose observed about the room was that the bed's sheets weren't even slightly wrinkled, the bed looked exactly the same as it had when Rose and the Doctor had arrived at the flat the afternoon before. The second thing Rose observed was the framed photograph of Jackie and Howard in front of Big Ben on the left side of the bed. That certainly hadn't been there before, not according to all of the real memories that Real Rose had unwillingly given her access to.

"I don't think she ever came back last night," Rose whispered, looking back at the Doctor to see him right behind her. She nearly jumped, but managed to keep her cool. 

He nodded, "She didn't, I was awake for three hours after… after... um…"

"After we kissed, Doctor?"

"Yeah… that. Why did you do that by the way?"

"I don't know, I just felt like doing it, so I did."

A strange look appeared on his face, but he didn't question her reasoning. Not out loud at least, but Rose knew he was pondering it heavily in his head. The other Rose would never have said something like that, she would've simply blushed like a young school girl and apologize for the random romantic act. Rose gave herself a mental slap on the face for her mistake, for almost exposing herself as a killer.

She cleared her throat, "Anyway, you were saying about my mum not returning?" She asked. 

He opened his mouth to speak, but was interrupted by the sound of the door opening, and Jackie Tyler's loud voice screaming, "Hello? Anyone home?"

Rose immediately ran towards her mum, "My god! Where've you been?" She cried. 

Jackie laughed as her daughter approached, "Rose, calm down! I just spent the night at Howard's. Normally I'd invite him over, but you two were here so I thought, hmm, best not do that," She confessed.

Both fake and real Rose wanted to throw up, Jackie staying the night at Howard's most certainly meant that they'd be doing things that neither Rose wanted to even think about Jackie and Howard doing. Rose visibly shuddered, and pushed the disturbing thought aside, "Disturbing news aside, I'm going to go get dressed, and then," She turned to the Doctor, "Then we're going to see Mickey."

He nodded in agreement, and Rose ran off to get dressed.

A few minutes later, Rose emerged from her bedroom wearing a brown t-shirt and jeans, and a broad smile on her face, "Ready to go?" She asked the Doctor. 

He returned her smile, "Allonsy!" He shouted, grabbing her hand and leading her towards the flat's door.

"Bye, mum!" Rose cried as the Doctor flung the door open, and pulled Rose through it.

"Have fun, you two!" Jackie cried, then, poking her head through the window, she added, "But not too much fun!"

The last statement from Jackie elicited a "Mum!" Response from Rose, and a laugh from the Doctor as they disappeared around the corner.

**Mickey Smith's Flat… Nine o' clock in the morning.**

Mickey Smith sat at his laptop, the website for a nearby school was displayed onscreen, his fingers flying across the keyboard as he thought of what to search next that would help the Doctor and Rose in their investigation.

He was interrupted in his thoughts by the sound of the TARDIS materializing behind him, in the exact spot where he'd placed a pile of important papers earlier, papers that would allow the two of them to get into the school. "I'm gonna kill him," Mickey muttered angrily as he watched the ship appear before him. When the noise stopped, the doors opened, and the Doctor appeared with Rose at his side.

"Hello, Mickey Smith!" The Doctor exclaimed, "What do you have for us today, mate?" He asked.

Mickey rolled his eyes, and glanced at the bottom of the TARDIS, "Your ship is sitting on it," He replied. 

Rose's eyes were the first to follow Mickey's to the floor, her gaze landing on a single corner of a piece of paper that was sticking out from underneath the ship. A giggle escaped her lips, "I'm sorry, but it's a little funny," She confessed.

Soon enough, the Doctor was joining her in her laughter, and the only person left in the room who wasn't laughing was Mickey. He cleared his throat, "Well, you're not going to find it so funny in a moment. Those papers are going to allow you to get into the school to investigate," He told them, "Undercover."

Rose frowned, "Undercover?" She asked angrily, not liking the idea of possibly getting into a costume and putting on a happy face all the time, having to resist the urge to kill everyone around her. The thought was almost enough for her to smash Mickey's thick skull into the desk behind him.

Mickey nodded slowly at Rose, as if she were a child, "Yes, Rose, undercover," He replied.

The Doctor grinned, "Brilliant, I'll just move the TARDIS to the other corner of the room, and then we'll get started!" He exclaimed excitedly hopping back into the ship.

The other two watched the TARDIS dematerialize and rematerialize in a completely different section of the room, obscuring their view of Mickey's massive bookshelf, which was completely full. The only time lord in the universe stepped out of the blue box a moment later, and picked up the smushed papers on the floor. After a moment he handed a few of them to Rose, and he snickered under his breath as he did so.

Rose didn't have the same reaction, "A lunch lady?!" She cried, "I have to be a bloody lunch lady?!" She glared at Mickey, then at the Doctor, lightly smacking both of them in the chest with the papers.

"Ow," Mickey squeaked out in response.

"What a baby," Rose whispered to herself.

"I've sent copies of both of these applications into the school, they've already accepted you both," Mickey said, ignoring Rose's complaints, "They're short on staff, so that may be part of the reason, but I suspect something else is at large here. You both start tomorrow. Any questions?"

Both Rose and the Doctor blinked, and Mickey crossed his arms in satisfaction, "It feels good to be in control for once," He said, mostly to the Doctor.

The time lord turned to Rose, "Want to start work now, or later?" He asked, motioning to the TARDIS.

Rose shrugged, "Now, I'm bored, and I don't feel like waiting till tomorrow," She replied, looking briefly at Mickey, "Hopefully you can keep yourself busy until then."

He sighed, "I suppose I'll have to," He said as he watched Rose reenter the TARDIS. The Doctor gave Mickey a brief wave before he too walked back inside the blue box.

All that Mickey could do then, was watch them fade away into tomorrow. Literally.

**Two days later…**

The only interesting thing that Rose had heard that morning was that a student had left class and gone home sick. She found it sad that that was what she considered to be interesting, but it was. There was literally nothing else interesting in all of her coworkers conversations, all they spoke about were things like their children, or their husbands, or what they were wearing tomorrow.

Nothing that would interest a killer.

She glared at all the women around her, feeling a strong urge to kill each and every one of them. Suddenly, she felt a warmth coming from between her fingers, and she looked down to see that she'd crushed a chip in her anger. Rose quickly picked the thing off of her fingers and ate it before anyone could notice that she'd stopped working.

Rose quickly resumed serving food to the growing line of hungry students and staff, glaring at the Doctor as she served him, and receiving a smirk in return. "Sit with me?" He whispered.

Rose nodded, "Definitely," She replied in the same hushed tone.

A few minutes later, when no one was looking, Rose grabbed a wet cloth, and headed off towards a table where the Doctor was sitting alone, the urge to kill seeming to vanish as she left the room full of lunch ladies. She glared angrily at him again as she began to wipe the table with the cloth, so that she'd appear to be working, "Two days, we've been here," She muttered.

He scoffed, "Blame your boyfriend, he's the one who put us on to this," He replied.

Rose sighed, "He's not my boyfriend, not really. Actually the status of our relationship is kind of confusing,"

"But he was right, Rose. Boy in class this morning, got knowledge way beyond planet Earth."

Rose's heart began to pound in her chest, and his voice slowly faded into silence as she felt the urge to kill him began to grow strong again, and it was starting to overwhelm her. Not here, she thought, Not in such a public place…

She glanced at the chips on the Doctor's tray, and went after those instead of him, "Have you tried the chips yet?" She asked, mostly to distract herself.

He nodded, "Yeah, they're a bit… different," He replied as Rose bit into one.

"I think they're… delicious," Rose said sitting down across from him.

"It's very well behaved, this place," The Doctor observed, "I thought they'd all be happy-slapping hoodies, happy-slapping hoodies with ASBOs and ringtones. Yeah?" Rose gave him an irritated look, but he continued rambling, "Oh, yeah. Don't tell me I don't fit in."

Suddenly, one of the lunch ladies that had irritated Rose earlier approached their table, "You are not to leave your station during a sitting," She practically hissed at Rose.

The blonde stood up, "Maybe I wanted to," She replied, "I was just talking to this teacher, you see, and he doesn't like the chips."

The lunch lady frowned at Rose, "Just because you wanted to, doesn't mean you can, you've got a job to do," She growled, then turned to the Doctor, "And just so you know, sir, the menu has been specifically designed by the headmaster to improve concentration and performance, so if you don't like it then shut your trap and eat it anyway. I swear, people these days don't appreciate being cooked for," She added as she and Rose walked away.

A few minutes later Rose was back in the kitchen scrubbing a filthy bin with a wash cloth, and watching the other lunch ladies bring out a large, silver container that seemed to have steam rising from it. All of them were wearing masks, something Rose found highly suspicious. She watched as they cautiously rolled it down the hall towards Rose.

"Keep it steady," One of them said, the "Vest Lady" as Rose had named her, since all she talked about all _fucking_ day was her clothes, "Don't spill a drop." None of them paid attention as Rose put the newly clean bin back in its place, and watched them from afar.

Suddenly, a single drop of yellow liquid spilled from the container, and the Vest Lady glared at the other three, "I said keep it steady! Careful," She warned them.

They began to move a second container of the stuff, when Rose's mobile phone rang, and she quickly rushed to answer it. "What have you got?" She asked quietly. 

"Confirmation," Mickey's voice replied, "I just got into army records. Three months ago massive UFO activity. They logged over forty sightings lights in the sky and shit. I can't get any photos because then it gets all classified and secret. Keeps locking me out."

Rose hardly listened to him, "Tell you what, though – three months ago, turns out all the kitchen staff were replaced," She whispered as the lunch ladies moved the second container in her general direction, "And this lot are damn freaky."

"See? There's definitely something going on," Mickey said, "I was right to call you home."

Rose rolled her eyes, "I thought you called me home just to – well, just to call me home. You do things like that, hell I did it for you once."

"You think I'd just invent an emergency?"

"S' not that hard, Mickey."

"That's the last thing I'd do."

Rose stopped listening to him at that moment, because just then one of the lunch ladies screamed out, "Holy shit!" as the container fell over, and spilled its contents all over her.

"Gotta go," Rose said into her phone before hanging up on Mickey. She watched as the woman screamed, and the others rushed to help her up, and pushed her into another room. 

Rose rushed to dial the emergency number, and was just about to hit call when one of the other women poked her head out of the door, and glared at Rose, "What're you doing?" She asked.

Rose held up her mobile, "I'm calling for help," She said. 

The lunch lady sighed, "There's no need for that, she's fine," She replied as the woman in the other room screamed, "She does that." And with that, "Justice For The Homeless" lady was gone.

As soon as she left, Rose walked around the counter in front of her to see what was spilling out of the container they'd been rolling down the hall. It was some sort of yellow goo, Rose gently poked at it through her latex gloves, "What the bloody hell is this?" She asked herself.


	4. School reunion: Sarah Jane Smith

After the final bell rang and classes were dismissed, Rose immediately threw the hideous hair net she was forced to wear to the ground, and stomped on it. "God, I hate that thing!" She cried, picking it up, and throwing it into the pile of rubbish that was accumulating in the corner of the room.

Someone giggled behind her, and Rose whipped around like a bullet to face them. It was just the Doctor, leaning against the counter behind her, and snickering to himself. "Well, looks like someone doesn't like their new job," He said casually.

Rose scoffed, "Clearly, god, I'm pissed at Mickey for making me do this," She muttered.

The Doctor laughed, and began toying with the sink head, pulling the snake like device out of its resting place, "Tell me, Rose," He said, "Are you afraid of water?" He walked closer, until his face was mere inches from hers, his hand still resting on the little knob that would turn the sink on. The head of the sink was still pointed at her.

"No," Rose replied, shaking her head. 

The Doctor grinned, "Good," He said, turning on the sink and spraying Rose with water. She let out a shriek as the water began to soak through her clothing, and she ran around to the other side of the counter while the Doctor desperately tried to follow her whilst keeping his hold on the sink head. He simply leaned over the counter, and let the water fall over Rose's head like rain.

"No! Stop!" She cried, getting up, lunging over the table, and tackling him. The Doctor let out a grunt as he fell to the ground, and he lost his grip on the sink head. Rose laughed as she watched it dangle loosely above the Doctor's legs, rapidly dampening his trousers. "Karma's a bitch, isn't she?" Rose asked flirtaciously.

A grin spread on the Doctor's face, "Yeah, she is," He replied, reaching around Rose for the sink head, and waving it over her head. His companion gasped, then ripped it out of his hands. She proceeded to spray him relentlessly with water until he was soaking wet, and begging for mercy.

"Alright!" He screamed, "Alright! I'm sorry!" At this, Rose stood up, and turned off the sink. She then turned to the Doctor, and laid down on the wet floor next to him. It took all her strength not to rip his throat out right then, she absolutely hated the way he was smiling up at her like some happy little puppy. Sure, Rose – Real Rose might be okay with that, but ganger Rose? She hated it.

She turned away from him, and stood up, "Come on, we need to get back to Mickey's flat," She said, "We need to plan out how we're going to further investigate this." He groaned, but he did stand up.

The two of them quietly walked out of the school through the rear exit, and made sure no one was watching them as they walked into the TARDIS. As they did, a silence washed over the pair, the only sound was their footsteps on the ship's floor. Rose listened to the hum of the TARDIS, and frowned. In Rose's memories, she'd always heard a happy, light, yet omnipresent sound whenever she entered the TARDIS. Clearly, the ship liked Rose – but only the real Rose. The hum that Rose was hearing this time—and all the other times she'd entered the TARDIS since becoming Rose— sounded angry, upset. Her heart beat faster in her chest as she realized that the TARDIS knew. The stupid, blue box knew she was a fake Rose.

Fear now coursing through her veins, Rose took a cautious step towards the TARDIS and the Doctor, and stood by his side at the console. After a moment's silence, he cleared his throat, "Rose, does the TARDIS sound weird to you?" He asked, looking up at the ceiling. Rose was unable to answer for a moment, because she was still in shock.

"Rose?" He asked again, this time looking his companion in the eyes.

She shook herself out of her panicked trance, and looked back at him, "Yeah, I guess it does," She replied in a monotone.

At this he turned his entire body towards her, a frown forming on his face, "Are you alright?" He asked.

_Say something Rose would say you blubbering idiot,_ she thought to herself, _act like the bubbly, exciting, adventurous blonde that you are._ The blonde nodded, "Of course," She laughed, "I'm fine! Everything's fine! Work was just boring as hell, and I guess I get depressed just thinking about it!"

From the look on his face she could tell he hadn't bought the lie, but it didn't look like he was going to ask her anymore questions regarding her wellbeing. Even he could tell something was off about Rose, but he wasn't quite sure what. Was it the way she'd been a little moodier since she'd kissed him a couple of nights ago? Was it a human thing? Did humans just change every so often? The time lord didn't know what to think of it.

The Doctor's lips parted in a warm grin, and he pulled a lever on the TARDIS console, "Let's go see Mickeyyyy Smith!" He cried, holding on tightly to the console as the ship dematerialized.

When the TARDIS landed in Mickey's flat, he was dead asleep in his computer chair, a few dozen sheets of printer paper serving as his pillow. They were all blown out from under his head as the ship landed mere inches from his face. He let out a shriek, and fell out of the chair just as the sound of the ship's engines turned into silence.

A moment later, the door opened, and the "happy couple" –as Mickey had started calling them—popped out with smiles on their faces. Slowly, he rose from behind his chair, and rushed to yell at the Doctor. "Are you bloody kidding me?" He asked, "You almost landed on my face! Where did you learn to drive that thing?"

The thin man scratched at his head, "You want the long version or the short version of that story?" he questioned in response.

Mickey scoffed, then he turned around, and picked up his fallen papers. "I wrote down everything Rose told me," He explained, flipping through the pages, "And there's definitely something going on, but the problem is that we've got no time to investigate during school hours without getting caught."

Rose raised an eyebrow, her criminal mind absolutely loving what Mickey seemed to be implying, "Are you suggesting what I think you're suggesting?" She asked suggestively.

He winked, "If you mean sneak into the school at night while it's closed and see what we find, then yes," was his response. The blonde grinned, perhaps Mickey wasn't so bad after all. _In fact,_ she thought, _he could be useful to the plan…_

The Doctor nodded slowly, "Well, then we should probably grab some torches," he said, pointing to the TARDIS, "And go." The three of them quickly piled into the TARDIS, and Rose led Mickey into the endless hallways to find the torches necessary for the task at hand.

The TARDIS materialized in the same place it had been earlier that day when the Doctor and Rose were still at work. A faint breeze blew into the ship as the doors opened, and the trio stepped out quietly. As they approached the doors, Rose and Mickey fell back to let the Doctor sonic them open. "Let's go," He whispered as he finished, and the three of them strode confidently into the school.

Rose laughed, "Oh, it's weird seeing school at night," She said, tapping into Rose's bitter memories of school, "It just feels wrong. When I was a kid I used to think all the teachers slept in school." God, Rose was more pathetic than she'd previously thought, even as a kid!

"Alright, team," The Doctor said, then he winced, "Oh, I hate people who say, 'team'. Um… Gang… um… comrades… uh anyway, Rose go to the kitchen and get a sample of that oil. Mickey, new staff, they're all math teachers go and check out the maths department. I'm gonna look in Finch's office. Meet back here in ten minutes." With that, the Doctor stalked away.

Mickey turned to Rose, "This is exciting," He said giddily, "I feel like I'm finally doing all that rebellion I missed out on in my teenage years."

The blonde laughed, then her face turned serious, "Are you gonna be alright?" She asked.

He scoffed, "Me? Please! Infiltration and investigation? I'm an expert at this," He told her before walking in the wrong direction. Rose waited patiently for him to inevitably realize his mistake, and after a moment, he did.

"Where's the maths department?" He asked, barely looking at Rose.

She raised a finger in front of her, "Down there, turn left, through the fire doors, on the right."

"Thank you."

Rose laughed to herself as Mickey walked away, and she was still smiling as she walked into the kitchen to collect the samples. She began to quietly hum to herself, and ever so smoothly she removed a jar and a spoon, from her pocket, took off the jar's lid, and began to put spoonfuls of the honey looking substance into the jar.

As she was finishing her task, she could hear the sound of wings flapping and a creature screeching above her, and felt a slight sense of panic wash over her again. "What the hell?" She asked, breathing shakily as she left the kitchen.

The blonde didn't hear another noise from the mysterious creature as she walked back to where she'd promised to meet the Doctor. However, the silence wasn't comforting, it was exactly the opposite. Ganger Rose, like Real Rose, was scared of silence. It was too loud, it screamed in her ears, and it usually didn't mean anything good.

Suddenly, mercifully, the silence was broken by Mickey's scream, and Rose sighed in relief, "Bless you, Mickey Smith," She breathed, running towards the high pitched sound. Her happy run was short lived, for just moments later she ran right in front of the Doctor and a middle aged brunette. "Did you hear that?" She asked, then looking at the brunette, she added, "Who's she?"

"Rose, Sarah Jane. Sarah Jane, Rose," The Doctor replied swiftly. Sarah Jane stepped forward and held out her hand, "Hi, nice to meet you," She said in a tone that made Rose think that it wasn't very nice to meet her at all, "You can tell you're getting older your assistants are getting younger."

"I'm not his assistant!"

"No, look at you tiger."

The time lord scratched the back of his head in discomfort, and ran forward ahead of them towards where they'd heard Mickey's scream a minute earlier.

The three of them found Mickey surrounded by a bunch of vacuum packed rats on the floor, fumbling to put them back in their place. "Sorry!" He exclaimed as they approached him, "I'm such a fucking idiot. You told me to investigate, so I started looking through some of these cupboards, and all these fell out on me."

Rose bent down, and picked one up, crinkling her nose in disgust, "Oh my god, they're rats—dozens of rats—vacuum packed rats," She muttered, feeling any liking for Mickey slowly disintegrating.

"And you decided to scream?" The Doctor asked.

"It took me by surprise!"

"Like a little girl?"

"It was dark and I was covered in fucking rats!"

"9, maybe 10 years old—I'm seeing pigtails, frilly skirt."

Rose cleared her throat, "Hello, can we focus?" She asked holding up one of the rats in front of her, "For one, this is bloody gross, and I don't know what use these have in a school—at least, not a normal one."

Sarah Jane shrugged, "Well, Rose, they use them in biology lessons, they dissect them," She replied, seeming slightly pleased at the blonde's disgust, "Or maybe you haven't reached that bit yet. How old are you?"

"Excuse me, no one dissects rats in school anymore. They haven't done that for years. Where are you from—the dark ages?"

"Anyway," The Doctor interjected, "Moving on. Everything started when Mr. Finch arrived. We should go check his office."

"Are you telling me you didn't already?" Rose asked, walking by his side. She gently shoved Sarah Jane as she moved to him.

He shook his head, "Got a little distracted," He replied gesturing to the other woman. A scowl appeared on his companion's face, one that the time lord mistook for jealousy, but was really in fact one of murderous intent. Sarah Jane Smith had just made Rose's hit list and she hadn't even known her for five minutes.

"We don't have time for distractions Doctor," She muttered, "We need to focus."

Suddenly, Sarah Jane appeared on the other side of the Doctor, and Rose's violent eyes fell on her, "Who are you anyway?" She asked.

The woman looked at Rose, "Sarah Jane Smith," She replied, "I used to travel with the Doctor."

The blonde quickly scanned through Rose's memories, and found no mention of "Sarah Jane Smith anywhere. "Hmm, he's never mentioned you," Rose said slyly, knowing that would get the Doctor into trouble.

The Doctor scratched nervously at the back of his head again, "Oh, I must have," He blurted, "Sarah Jane—I mention her all the time."

"Hold on… Sorry, never."

"What? Not even once? He didn't mention me once?"

As Sarah Jane and Rose strode ahead, Mickey laid a hand on the Doctor's shoulder, a laugh escaping his lips, "Oh-ho, mate, the missus and the ex—welcome to every man's worst nightmare," He said as they approached Finch's office door.

The Doctor ignored Mickey's comment, then he reached into his pocket, and pulled out the sonic screwdriver. "Maybe the rats were food," He commented as he sonicked the lock.

"Food for what?" Rose asked, watching him open the door, "For the roaches, ya know the ones that crawl all over you with their creepy little legs, and stare at you with beady eyes?" She crawled her fingers swiftly up Sarah Jane's shoulder, making the older woman jump.

Before she could respond, however, the Doctor's hushed voice entered her ears, "Rose, you know how you used to think all the teachers slept in school?" He asked, pointing up, "Well, they do."

It took all of Rose's strength to refrain from laughing as she stared up at the brown looking creatures on the ceiling. "Bloody hell," She whispered, "This is better than I expected."

"No way," Mickey said, shaking his head and running out the door, Sarah Jane, Rose, and the Doctor following behind him. The four of them ran out of the school and towards the parking lot. By the time they arrived they were nearly out of breath. "I am not going back in there!" Mickey announced rather loudly. 

"They replaced thirteen teachers, and there were thirteen big bat people," The Doctor said, turning back towards the school, "Come on."

Rose and Sarah Jane began to follow him, but Mickey wouldn't budge. "You've got to be kidding," He hissed.

The Doctor turned around, "I need the TARDIS," he said, "I need to analyze that oil from the kitchen."

Sarah Jane grinned, "I might be able to help you there," She admitted, "I've got something to show you."

This earned her a glare from Rose, and a nod of approval from both the Doctor and Mickey. Rose glared at them too, but they didn't notice. She sighed as Sarah Jane led them all to her car, and shoved her hand in her pocket. Her hand wrapped around the handle of a small sized army knife that she'd stolen from the TARDIS, and she began to squeeze it as if it were a stress ball. However, instead of relieving stress, it only worsened her desire to kill.


	5. School Reunion: Uncoiling the Doctor

As they approached Sarah Jane's car, Rose noticed that Sarah Jane looked at the Doctor with what almost looked like a combination of love and longing. Were they lovers? Rose thought, slowing her pace to allow the other woman to pass, and walk side by side with the Doctor.

Sarah Jane's body language told her pretty much everything. She was close with the Doctor—or at least she had been—close enough to almost lean into him when they walked. They spoke in hushed tones, giving off an almost intimate appearance. Rose looked at Mickey, who was now walking next to her, "You think those two were an item?" She asked curiously.

Mickey shrugged, "It would appear so, but I've seen you with the Doctor," He replied, "You're the same way, if not closer, and you're not an item."

"Fair point," Rose said, then silenced herself as they approached Sarah Jane's car—or as Rose immediately called it, faded blue rubbish bin. It truly was, in Rose's defense; the paint was chipped in a few places, the model hadn't been considered new since at least 1995, and the tail lights were heavily foggy.

"Here it is!" Sarah Jane exclaimed excitedly, inserting a key into the car's trunk door. It opened with ease a moment later. As the moonlight filtered in, Rose noticed a flurry of recognition cross the Doctor's face. "K-9!" He breathed, grinning.

Leaning in, Rose stole a glance at the mysterious "K-9," which turned out to be an old, robotic dog shaped machine. Her curiosity quickly descended into disappointment. There was nothing more sorry than learning that their mission was saved by a fucking robot. In this moment, Rose was grateful for the existence of the TARDIS, even if the ship knew who she was, and could expose her identity at any moment.

The Doctor's excitement, however, remained high as ever, "Rose Tyler, Mickey Smith, allow me to introduce K-9," He said, "Well, K-9 Mark III to be precise."

Rose's facial features shifted to portray the dissatisfaction brewing inside of her, "Why does it look so, disco?" She asked.

"Oi," The Doctor replied, "Listen, in the year 5000, this was cutting edge."

Sarah Jane smirked at Rose, seeming pleased that the Doctor disagreed with her. _Okay, jealous bitch,_ Rose thought, _let's see how funny it is when I run this knife through your chest._

"What happened?" The Doctor asked, interrupting Rose's murderous thoughts.

"Well," Sarah Jane replied, snapping herself out of her own thoughts, "He was working fine, and then one day, just… nothing."

"Well, didn't you try to get him repaired?"

"It's not like getting parts for a mini metro. Besides, the technology inside him could rewrite human science. I couldn't show him to anyone."

That time, Rose found herself agreeing with Sarah Jane, something that surprised her significantly. Perhaps it was because the woman had finally said something intelligent, and non demeaning to Rose. Instead, she had corrected the Doctor.

"Ooh, what's the nasty lady done to you?" The Doctor asked the robot in a voice that sounded suspiciously child-like. Rose rolled her eyes. Even Mickey looked like he was barely suppressing a groan. The two of them looked at each other sympathetically, and continued listening in on the Doctor's rambling.

Rose groaned, and walked around the side of the car. Mickey followed suit, "This must be awkward for you," He whispered, looking at Sarah Jane and the Doctor.

"How so?" Rose replied, raising an eyebrow. She found nothing awkward about the situation, but she was certain that the Rose who rested on Demon's Run was feeling some sort of tension. In fact, ever since she'd seen Sarah Jane for the first time ten minutes ago, Rose felt a sense of discomfort that was unlike her itching desire to kill. Was Rose… jealous of Sarah Jane?

"She was clearly close to him at some point, and now she's trying to make moves on him, judging by the way she's givin' him the doe eyes, and well, he hasn't said much to you since we got here…"

In her head, Rose was laughing her ass off. She could care less. Sarah Jane was a perfect distraction for the Doctor, her talking to him meant that he wasn't paying attention to Rose, and this gave her time to plot his murder. And she would be plotting, if it weren't for the fact that she'd been too busy actually listening to the Doctor's conversations. God, she was such a shitty assassin.

Out loud, Rose said something different, "Look," She muttered, "No offense, but can you two just stop petting for a minute?" Behind her, she heard Mickey laugh quietly. She made a note to remove him from her mental hit list.

"Oh, alright," The Doctor mumbled, approaching the passenger side door. They all waited a moment as Sarah Jane unlocked her car, then, almost simultaneously, they threw open their doors, and sat down.

As Sarah Jane drove, Rose allowed herself to lean against the car door and plot murder.

How would she do it? When? It seemed impossible. The man was constantly moving about, always saving the universe from one thing or another without thinking about the long term consequences of his actions. As soon as he was finished in one place he moved on to another. The only time he wasn't saving the world was when he was giving Rose time to visit her family.

_Ah-ha!_ Rose thought, _the perfect time would be the moment they finished their work with the freaky bat teachers_.

That still left one question unanswered: the how question. Would she stab him? Maybe. She was a big fan of the knife. After all, she was carrying one in her pocket. But would she be able to stab him again as he regenerated and kill him for good? Doubtful. The energy given off during regeneration would kill her before she could touch him. At least, she thought it would. She had no idea what would actually happen to a human when they stood too close to it. There weren't exactly any records to go on. She only hoped that if she had to find out, it wouldn't end in her death.

A gun on the other hand. A gun would certainly guarantee that she could kill him from a distance, have some time to give a big dramatic speech about who she was, and how his real Rose had been tucked away in the cupboard all this time, and finally, kill him as he regenerated. She felt her body shiver as her imagination ran wild with all the scenarios she could complete her mission in. But then she thought once again, and thought that the gun was too quick. It could just happen leaving him no time to give the goodbyes she figured he deserved. It would probably be best to stab him first, and then shoot him dead from a distance.

Finally, she'd found a solution that would kill him, and she'd discovered a time that was perfect for the killing, now all she needed to do was procure a gun. That shouldn't be too hard. She'd have to escape the Doctor for a good five minutes and make sure that she didn't bring the gun into the TARDIS.

Satisfied with her plan, Rose allowed her mind to come back down to reality, only to discover that they'd pulled onto the side of the road, and parked in front of a restaurant that smelled strongly of chips. "Great," She mumbled, slowly pushing open her door, and leaving the faded blue rubbish bin behind.

The others followed suit, and soon enough, Rose, Mickey, K-9, Sarah Jane, and the Doctor sat at separate tables inside the restaurant. The Doctor and Sarah Jane immediately began prodding at K-9's various parts with his sonic screwdriver. Rose watched them for a moment, then turned to Mickey, "You wanna get chips?" She asked, bored of watching her future victim with his ex.

The man in front of her nodded, "Absolutely," He replied, standing up at the same time as Rose, and walking towards the counter, where a petite brunette was tapping her fingernails against the register, waiting to take their order.

As soon as they ordered, Rose leaned against the glass, and watched as Sarah Jane giggled at something the Doctor had said. She rolled her eyes, "I'm gonna be honest, I don't like that woman," She whispered.

Mickey laughed, "You see, what's impressive is that it's been nearly an hour since we've met her," He whispered back, "and I still haven't said 'I told you so.'"

"I'm not listening to this," Rose growled.

"Though I have prepared a little 'I was right,' dance that I can show you later," He added.

Rose rolled her eyes for what must've been the billionth time that night, "It's not for the reason you think," She protested, knowing that he thought she was jealous of Sarah Jane for getting all the Doctor's attention.

"Your chips, love," The woman behind the counter said, interrupting their conversation, and handing Rose her chips.

"Thanks," Rose whispered, taking the chips, and Mickey, back to their little table.

Mickey laughed at her, "I'm sure it's not," he replied, "But all this time you've been telling me 'he's different,' when the truth is, he's just like any other bloke."

Rose groaned, "You don't know what you're talking about, I'm not jealous."

"Maybe not, but if I were you, I'd go easy on the chips."

Glaring at Mickey, Rose shoved a chip in her mouth, "You know what? I'm going to eat as many chips as I'd like to, because, while I'm not jealous of her, or attracted to him in that way, I don't think that a man should care if a woman eats a lot of chips or gains weight. You know why? That makes him scum. It makes him particularly awful if he chooses to leave said woman because she puts on a few pounds. It makes him a fucking pig. Now the Doctor and Sarah Jane over there, it's pretty clear that they haven't seen each other in a while. I say let them have their fun. They bloody deserve it," She said, harshly, but firmly, making her feelings about the situation clear.

"Sorry," Mickey muttered.

Rose nodded, thinking of what to say next that would put her back in character. Judging by the faint ping of hurt she'd felt delivering her speech, Rose didn't agree with her. She was jealous, and was practically screaming at the Rose on planet Earth to shut the hell up. "But you're right about one thing," She mumbled, realizing then what would be perfect for Rose to say, "We are incredibly close, and it is kind of weird to see someone here that used to have that kind of relationship with him. It just makes me wonder, is that gonna happen to me?"

Mickey looked like he was about to answer her question, but he was interrupted by a robotic voice calling out, "Master?"

"He recognizes me!" The Doctor exclaimed. Rose turned her attention towards the old, metal dog, suddenly interested in the "cutting edge" technology. "Rose give me the oil," He added, motioning for Rose to come towards him. She reluctantly obeyed, and reached into her jacket pocket for the oil as she approached.

"Here you go," She sing-songed, giving him a false smile as she handed him the oil. "I wouldn't touch it though," She murmured, "That dinner lady got scorched." Not that she'd care if he got burned, but she knew Rose would.

"I'm no dinner lady," He replied with a wink, "And I don't often say that." At this Rose looked at him, confused as to why he'd winked at her. Was he flirting with his companion?

The Doctor unscrewed the lid to the container holding the oil, stuck his finger inside, making sure to get enough of it onto his finger, and gently wiped it onto a round circle protruding from K-9's nose. The circle then moved back to the dog's face, and the Doctor grinned, "Here we go," He breathed as he screwed the lid back on as the dog began to analyze the liquid.

A series of beeping noises emanated from K-9, "Oil. Ex-ex-ex-extract," He stuttered out, struggling to get the words out. Rose and Mickey laughed as the dog continued to speak, "Ana- ana- analyzing…"

"Listen to him," Mickey said mid-chuckle, "Man—that's a voice."

The Doctor glared at him, but it was Sarah Jane who spoke, "Careful, that's my dog," She hissed.

At last, K-9's stuttering halted, and he spoke clearly, albeit robotically, "Confirmation of analysis—substance is Krillitane Oil."

Rose watched as the Doctor recognized the name, "They're Krillitaines…" he breathed.

"Is that bad?" She asked.

"Very," he replied, his eyes staring out the window of the restaurant, "Think how bad things could possibly be, and add another suitcase full of bad."

"And what are Krillitaines?" Sarah Jane asked.

Rose looked up at the Doctor, and raised an eyebrow, begging for an explanation, "Doctor?"

"They're a composite race," He replied, turning his gaze to her, "Just like your culture is a mixture of traditions from all sorts of people you've invaded or have been invaded by. You've got bits of—Viking, bits of France, bits of whatever. The Krillitanes are the same—an amalgam of the races they've conquered, but they take physical aspects, as well …"

Rose stopped paying attention at this point, and began rubbing her fingers over the handle of the knife residing in her pocket. All she could think of was stabbing him a good twenty times in the back.

"… they had really long necks…" She heard him say, snapping her back to reality.

"What are they doing here then?" She asked hurriedly, realizing that he'd fallen silent a moment earlier.

"It's the children," He muttered, "They're doing something to the children."

"What are we going to do?" Rose asked.

He ran a hand through his hair, "I don't know," He said quietly, "Sarah Jane, Mickey, can you get K-9 back to the car? Rose and I need some rest. Big day at work tomorrow."

Sarah Jane nodded, "Certainly," She said, grabbing her keys, "Mickey, do you mind helping me carry my dog?"

He shook his head, "No, not at all," He replied, slipping his hands beneath K-9, and lifting the dog up. Together, he and Sarah Jane walked out of the restaurant, leaving Rose and The Doctor behind.

Rose turned to the Doctor as soon as they were gone, "She doesn't seem to like me very much," She stated.

He laughed, "I'd noticed," He said, shooting her a brief smile, "Believe me, it's not the first time this has happened."

A sound quite similar to a gasp echoed through Rose's head, and a feeling she recognized as pain, or hurt coarsed its way through her veins. She watched as he turned to leave the restaurant, and quickly followed, not allowing him to leave the conversation at that. She had to know more about her enigmatic enemy. "How many of us have there been? Traveling with you?" She questioned him.

"Does it matter?" He asked, seeming agitated.

Sensing this agitation with her, Rose almost grinned, knowing she was getting somewhere with him. This was good, this meant he was vulnerable, and with the right push, she just might be able to learn something about the Doctor. "Yeah, it matters, if I'm just the latest in a long line," She growled.

He turned to her, an expression of frustration running rampant across his face, "As opposed to what?" He asked.

Rose continued pushing, and moved closer to him, "I thought you and me were… but I obviously got it wrong," She replied quietly, tapping into Rose's memories, her feelings, "I've been to the year five billion, right, but this—this is really seeing the future. You just leave us behind."

She could practically hear Rose screaming for her to stop. _My, my,_ she thought, _doesn't she have an active mind when she's unconscious?_

Suddenly she could see a shift in his eyes, memories flashing behind them, him reliving what must've been a painful nine hundred years. He didn't look at her, He almost seemed to look beyond everything that was around them. He was looking back. "Is that what you're gonna do to me?" She asked, hoping to stun him.

"No," He replied, stunning her instead, "Not to you." His eyes at last met hers, the images drifting behind their lenses long gone.

"But, Sarah Jane," She protested, playing with the ball of yarn that was his emotions, "You were that close to her once, and now you never even mention her. Why not?"

Pain. Nothing but pain in those eyes now. If it weren't for her acting skills, Rose would've smiled or cheered with victory, but instead, she chose to listen to him.

"I don't age," He muttered, "I regenerate… But humans decay. You wither, and you die," He continued, an almost visible lump forming in his throat, "Imagine watching that happen to someone that you—"

"Someone you what, Doctor?" She asked, hoping he'd finish his sentence. She was almost certain he was going to say "love," but he finished the sentence in a way that she definitely hadn't expected him to.

"You can spend the rest of your life with me… But I can't spend the rest of mine with you," he replied, "That's the curse of the Time Lords," and it was in this moment that Rose's prodding fingers untangled the yarn, and she saw everything on his mind. He was in love with her. Just as the real Rose was in love with him, he was in love with her.

_Oh, this is delicious…_ Rose thought, _Forbidden love, one of them just fucking destined to outlive the other, oh this is too good_. At last, something she could use to torture him, to really truly hurt him and make him beg for death. She was mentally clapping with glee. She'd successfully learned a piece of crucial information about her enemy. He was in love. His enormous mind, though sharp and intelligent, was clouded with thoughts about Rose.

Suddenly a loud screeching noise resonated throughout the night air, interrupting the Doctor and Rose's intimate conversation. They looked up at the same time, just as the krillitane flew down towards them, its claws outstretched, reaching out to grab Sarah Jane, who stood just ten feet away. The Doctor pulled Rose to the ground just before it reached them, and it flew harmlessly overhead, and into the night.

"It didn't even touch her," Rose whispered in shock, "It just flew away. What did it do that for?" She asked. No one answered, they were too busy staring after the Krillitane as its shrinking form faded into the full moon.


	6. School Reunion: The Enemy of my Enemy

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> God I'm sorry this took so long. My inspiration is off and on, but I think it's going to be on again for a little while, I think about this fic all the time, and I'm so glad I got back to it. This chapter will finally conclude the never ending "School Reunion," Storyline, and we will at last move on to the "Girl in the Fireplace." I'm actually really excited about that one, lots of twists there... Especially towards the end ;) Anyway, go on, read this new chapter.

As soon as the Krillitaine flew off the Doctor began herding Rose, Mickey, and Sarah Jane back towards her van, "Come on, you lot," He said, "We can't just sit here all day, we've got work to do!"

Rose groaned as she opened her door, "Can't we just get the TARDIS and go to sleep?" She asked, "That sounds like a better idea."

The Doctor laughed as Sarah Jane started the car, "You certainly like your sleep, don't you, Rose Tyler?"

As she threw herself inside the blue rubbish bin, Rose laughed, "Oh you have no idea," She said, feeling the disgust of the real Rose as she, the Doctor, Sarah Jane, and Mickey drove off into the night.

The next day the four of them piled once again into Sarah Jane's blue rubbish bin, and talked over their plans to take down the Krillitaines, which Rose had every intention of following. She wasn't going to let some fugly creatures from another planet kill the Doctor for her.

Upon arriving at the school, the four got out of the rubbish bin in unison, which impressed Rose, though she wouldn't admit it, and they walked out towards the school together.

The Doctor reached into his suit pocket, and pulled out his sonic screwdriver, "Rose, Sarah, you two go to the maths room, crack open those computers," He said, handing Sarah Jane the sonic, "I need to see the hardware inside."

Rose almost groaned aloud, there was no way in hell that she would ever work with Sarah Jane. However, being alone in a room with her gave her the perfect opportunity to get information about the Doctor out of the woman, and then… Maybe she'd kill her, maybe she wouldn't. It would depend entirely on how much Sarah managed to piss her off.

The Doctor continued speaking, "Mickey, surveillance," he ordered the dark skinned man behind him; "I want you outside."

"Just stand outside?" Mickey asked, bewildered.

Sarah Jane turned to him, and gave him her car keys, "Here, take these," She said, "You can keep K-9 company."

"Don't forget to leave the window open a crack," The Doctor added.

"But he's metal!" Mickey protested, and Rose watched as he stood still, and let them walk ahead of him.

"I didn't mean for him!" The Doctor shouted back.

Rose then walked up against the Doctor's side, allowing her hand to brush his, and taking deep pleasure in his shiver. "What are you gonna do?" She asked softly.

He didn't look at her, something she suspected was entirely due to her touching him, and their conversation the previous night, "It's time I had a word with Mr. Finch," He said.

Rose took his hand in hers, "I never did trust people with the name 'Finch,' they always seemed… off, you know?" She asked, "They're always the bad guy."

He shook his head, "Not always, remember Atticus?" He asked.

The blonde tapped her memory, then she understood what he'd said. He'd referenced To Kill a Mockingbird, a book that the real Rose seemed to enjoy. In ganger Rose's opinion, it was a bore. She gave Mickey a grin, then she walked up to Sarah Jane. "Come on then, you," She said, sounding slightly pissed off, "We've got to get to work."

She and the brunette then made their entrance into the building, and headed straight for the computer labs, neither one saying a word to the other. Quite frankly, Rose was grateful for the silence, she certainly preferred it over the woman's usual "remember when we did this, Doctor," babbling.

Soon enough they reached the lab, and Sarah Jane used the sonic to unlock the door, then they were in. They gazed out at the rows of computers, and Rose sighed, "Which one?" She asked. The other woman didn't answer her, but instead walked over to one, and sat down. The ganger followed suit.

Using the sonic, Sarah Jane began to get to work on the computer wires, bending down close to the ground to gain better access. The sonic buzzed, but nothing happened, and with a sigh, she backed away from the computer, "It's not working!" She exclaimed, giving the sonic a tap.

Rose rolled her eyes, this woman was positively useless. "Here, let me try," She said, taking the sonic from Sarah's hands. She received a noticeable glare from the Doctor's former companion as she bent down to work on the computer, but ignored it, knowing full well that if she acknowledged it, her murderous side would come out.

"Used to work first try in my day," Sarah Jane said suddenly, interrupting the silence that had fallen between them.

Rose scoffed, "Well, things were a lot simpler back then," She muttered, pressing a button on the sonic.

"Rose, can I give you a bit of advice?"

The blonde's teeth clenched together, and then she said through her teeth, "I'd prefer you didn't," and stood slowly before beginning to work on the now cracked computer.

Sarah Jane ignored her, "I know how intense a relationship with the Doctor can be," She said, "And I don't want you to feel I'm intruding."

 _Oh, but you are,_ Rose wanted to say, _and more than that, you're extremely annoying, and you've made your way to the top of my fucking hit list._

Instead, she said, "I don't feel threatened by you, if that's what you mean."

"Right, good! Cause I'm not interested in picking up where we left off."

Rose nearly laughed; in fact, a little giggle did manage to slip past her lips. Who was Sarah Jane trying to fool here? Certainly it wasn't Rose, who could see all the signs from the past twenty four hours that indicated the exact opposite of what she'd just said.

"No?" She asked, a sly grin appearing on her face, "The sad eyes, the robot dog… That wasn't picking up where you left off?" She slowly walked closer to Sarah Jane as she talked, feeling the heat burning beneath her skin, and her eyes search the room for a decent weapon.

"No…" Sarah replied slowly, "We were simply catching up. It's what you do when you haven't seen someone in a while."

Rose grew closer to her, "I'm sure," She replied, feeling her fingers tense.

The woman in front of her gulped, "Are you alright, Rose?" She asked worriedly, reaching a hand out for Rose's arm.

She pulled it away instantly, and nodded, "I'm fine," She said, smiling casually as she walked back to the computer and continued working, "Absolutely fine."

Her partner in crime gave her a nod, "Alright then, where were we?" She asked.

"You didn't want to pick up where you left off?"

"Right! That! I was just saying how hard it was adjusting to life back on earth."

Rose looked away, eyes rolling, "The thing is, when you two met, they'd only just got rid of rationing," She muttered coldly, "No wonder all that space stuff was a bit too much for ya." At that, she could feel the Rose that was sleeping on Demon's Run screaming in her head, begging her to stop teasing Sarah Jane.

Fortunately for the ganger, what she'd said had struck a chord with the woman, who stood beside her angrily, "I had no problem with space stuff," She shouted, "I saw things you wouldn't believe!"

Laughter erupted from Rose's mouth. Was Sarah Jane aware that she was also the Doctor's companion? That she'd probably seen just as much, if not more, than Sarah Jane had? "Try me," She goaded the other woman.

"Mummies," Sarah Jane said.

"I've met ghosts," Rose replied non-chalantly, quietly wishing she could high five the real Rose for thinking up that one.

"Robots—lots of robots."

"Slitheen, in Downing Street."

"Daleks!"

"Met the emperor."

"Anti-matter monsters."

"Gas masked zombies."

"Real living dinosaurs!"

"Real living werewolf!"

"The Lochness Monster!" Sarah Jane screamed at her.

Rose raised her eyebrows in disbelief, "Seriously?" She asked.

Sarah Jane began to laugh, and brought her hands to her face, "Oh," She breathed, "Listen to us, arguing over a man."

"An extraordinary man at that," Rose said in admiration for her foe, "Though rather irritating sometimes."

"I'd raise a glass to that if I had one," Sarah Jane replied.

They both laughed for a moment, Rose's bloodlust taking a backseat, and her investigative side taking control, "He's so different from us," She said quietly, "I mean, he can't die… He just… Changes."

Sarah Jane nodded, "I know, I've seen it."

"Me too."

"But you're wrong about one thing, Rose."

"What's that?"

"He can die."

"Oh, yeah, during regeneration, right?"

"Or if it happens too quickly for him to regenerate." 

Rose gave Sarah Jane another nod, and sighed, "Guess he's not truly immortal, then." 

"Rose?" Sarah Jane asked, "Why all these questions about the Doctor's death?"

She shook her head, "Nothing," She replied, "Merely curiousity."

The woman beside her opened her mouth to say something, but at that moment the Doctor walked in, and she stopped. "Everything alright?" He asked. The two women nodded, and exchanged a kind glance at each other.

"Everything's perfectly fine," Rose said, stepping back in front of the computer, "Want to help us, Doctor?" She grinned up at him, and unsurprisingly, he grinned back. Before he could join them, however, an alarm sounded throughout the school, and a voice came over the intercoms ordering all students to go back into the school.

"That's not good," the Time Lord muttered, running over to join Sarah and Rose.

They all watched as students walked calmly back inside the classrooms, several of them attempting to enter the lab the three time travelers were in, but Rose pushed them all away, "You've got to go to the South hall," She commanded them, closing the door behind her, and locking it.

"I hate children," She whispered to herself.

"What was that?" The Doctor asked.

"Nothing."

The Doctor then shrugged off whatever he thought Rose had said, and set to work on opening the mainframe of the room's computer system, sonicing various parts of it as Sarah Jane watched over his shoulder, and Rose locked the remaining doors.

"I thought the sonic could open anything," Sarah Jane said, observing the Doctor's obvious struggle.

He nodded, "Anything except a deadlock seal," He replied, "There's got to be something inside here. What are they teaching these kids?"

Suddenly the sounds of doors slamming throughout the school echoed in their ears, and the computer screens all lit up with the color green, and the images of various symbols and what looked like computer codes flashed rapidly across the screen. The Doctor looked up as Rose approached them again, and stared at it curiously. "What is it?"

"Some sort of code," Rose suggested.

"Oooh, yes, you are good, Rose Tyler."

She grinned at him behind his back, "I'm just a killer at guessing," She said, nearly laughing at her own pun.

He shifted slightly, and she sensed he knew that it was an out of character thing for her to say, but then he simply ignored it, and stared at the code flashing across the screen. "No…" He breathed, "No, they can't be…"

The ganger watched as he realized what was happening, "The Skasis Paradigm…" He whispered, "They're trying to crack the Skasis paradigm."

Sarah Jane looked at him confused, "The Skasis what?"

"The God maker, the universal theory… Crack that equation, you've got control of the building blocks of the universe. Time, space, matter, life, death—you can control it."

Rose looked up at him worriedly, if these creatures could control life and death, they could destroy her, or worse, they'd kill him before she got the chance to. She wasn't giving anyone else that chance. She felt the bloodlust rise again, and it took nearly all of her mental strength to push it down. It had been too long since her last kill.

"And the kids are a giant computer?" Sarah Jane asked as Rose's vision lined red.

"Yes," The Doctor replied, not looking at either of them, "And their learning power is being accelerated by the oil. That oil from the kitchen, it works as a conducting agent, makes the kids clever."

Still seeing red, Rose took a deep breath, "But that oil's on the chips, and I've been eating them," She said, slipping the hint of worry into her voice that she knew the real Rose would have.

The Doctor's eyes turned on her, "What's 59 times 35?" He asked.

"2,065. Oh god…" She was suddenly angry again, hating that she'd let something mess with her head, but loving the newly gained intelligence she'd been given.

Sarah Jane looked between the two of them, "But why use children instead of adults?"

He shook his head, "No, it's got to be children. The God maker needs imagination to crack it. They're not just using their brains, they're using their souls."

As he spoke, the headmaster, Mr. Finch, entered the room, and began pacing behind the Doctor. "Let the lesson begin," Finch said as the Doctor turned around, "Think of it, Doctor, with the paradigm solved, reality becomes clay in our hands. We can shape the universe and improve it."

The time lord in question scoffed, "The whole of creation with the face of Mr. Finch, call me old-fashioned but I like things as they are."

The corners of Rose's mouth twisted up in a hint of a smile, the real Rose having broken through for a fraction of a second in pride.

"You act like such a radical, and yet all you want to do is preserve the old order? Think of the changes that could be made…"

Rose tuned the headmaster out at that moment as she attempted to push Rose out of her mind; if she lost control of herself the real Rose could reveal her identity to the Doctor. If she did that, everything would be destroyed, everything she and Kovarian had worked for. The scientists at Demon's Run would've worked years for nothing.

The plan was going to fail if Rose couldn't get herself under control, but luckily, she was succeeding, and within a few seconds, the Rose the Doctor loved so dearly was safely tucked away in her own head, returning to her dreams.

"… And you could be with him throughout eternity," She heard Finch say as he walked closer to her. She put her hands down at her side, removing them from where she hadn't realized they'd been at her temples. She quickly slipped back into the character she was pretending to be, and focused her eyes on Finch.

"Young, fresh," Finch continued, "Never wither, age, or die. Their lives are so fleeting, so many goodbyes. How lonely you must be, Doctor. Join us."

Rose looked between Finch and the Doctor for a moment, watching each of their faces intently. The Doctor almost looked as if he were considering the headmaster's offer for a moment, but she knew that there was no way this would end with him accepting the Krillitaine's invitation. It wasn't something he'd do.

"I could save everyone," the Time Lord breathed quietly, "I could stop the war."

Sarah Jane stepped forward, "No," She protested, "The universe has to move forward. Pain and loss—they define us as much as happiness or love." Rose couldn't ignore the brief flicker of his eyes to hers as his former companion said "love". God, she thought, he's really into her. How pathetic.

"Whether it's a world or a relationship, everything has its time, and everything ends," Sarah Jane finished.

The Doctor looked out at the paradigm, and in that instant, Rose realized what he was about to do. "Do it!" She cried, watching eagerly as the Doctor ran forward, picked up a blue chair, and threw it at the big screen in front of the room. The glass shattered to the floor, and the three of them dashed out of the room, ignoring Finch's shouts for them to stop.

They ran out of the lab, and headed straight for the stairs, the three of them descending at top speed, and running into Mickey and a young student named Kenny at the bottom.

"What's going on?" The confused Mickey asked.

The Doctor was about to respond, but then he heard a screech to his left, and saw four krillitanes running at them, wings tucked tightly behind their backs. "Come on!" He shouted, urging the others to run in the opposite direction. They ran straight into the cafeteria, flying past blue seated tables and the still dirty-from-the-last-meal floor. They ran until they reached the other side, where the door was locked, and the Doctor reached desperately in his pocket for the sonic.

Unfortunately, he was a little too late, for Finch burst through the doors in human form and began charging at them. The Krillitanes followed close behind him, and flew chaotically about the room, screeching as they went. "Are they my teachers?" Kenny asked.

The Doctor nodded, "Yeah, sorry," He said quickly.

"Leave the Doctor alive," Finch ordered the krillitanes, "As for the rest, you can feast."

Immediately, the creatures began their descent, attacking the Doctor's companions as they'd been ordered to do so. The time lord defiantly grabbed another blue chair, and swung at his enemies. Rose followed suit, picking up a chair of her own, throwing it at a Krillitaine coming at her from the front, and smiling in satisfaction when it made contact with the creature's stomach. "Yes!" She cried.

Suddenly, a laser beam shot out at one of the other Krillitaines, causing it to fall to the ground. The four humans and the time lord looked down to find K-9 looking up at them, its laser still out and at the ready. Finch began screeching at that moment, and the robotic dog turned towards its owner, "Suggest you engage running mode, mistress," it said.

"Come on!" The Doctor shouted, running through the door the robotic animal had just entered through, and leading his companions out of harm's way. "K-9 hold them back!"

He led them into his classroom, then turned to make sure everyone was still following him before slamming the door shut, and sonicing the lock.

Once they were certain that they weren't being followed, the Doctor faced them, "So," He said, "Time to solve the final piece of the puzzle."

Rose looked up at him confused, "What would that be?" She asked, more than happy to get rid of the Krillitaines. Sure, they'd make it easier for the Doctor to wind up dead, but with them around, it was very unlikely that it'd be by her hand, a situation she wanted to avoid desperately. In her case, she was finding the enemy of her enemy was most certainly not her friend.

"How are we going to get rid of them?"

No one had anything to say for a moment, then Rose started to think about everything that had happened since she'd gotten her shitty job at the school. She remembered what had happened on her very first day… The lunch ladies had been carrying out the giant can full of what she now knew was krillitane oil, spilled it on one of them, who had had some sort of allergic reaction, and then… "The oil," She breathed, "It spilled on her."

"What was that, Rose?" The Doctor asked.

"The Krillitane oil," She replied, a spark igniting in her brain, "Remember? It spilled on that lunch lady yesterday, and she had some sort of reaction to it…"

It took him a second before he understood, but when he did, it was like watching the power come back on after a long storm, "Oh!" He exclaimed, "The oil! Krillitane life-forms can't handle the oil—that's it! They've changed their physiology so often, even their own oil is toxic to them. How much was there in the kitchens?"

Rose grinned slyly, "There were just barrels of it lying around," She said, "They intended to use it to poison the children, but if you're thinking what I'm thinking, it'll be the other way around…"

"Oh, Rose Tyler I-"

Before he could finish his sentence, there was a loud banging on the door followed by a screeching noise. Their heads whipped around to find that the Krillitaines had caught up to them, and were now tearing the door apart to get their prey.

The Doctor looked over at Mickey, "We need to get to the kitchens," He said, "Mickey…"

The man in question put his hands up, "What now?"

"Get all the children unplugged and out of the school," The Doctor replied, ignoring Mickey's comment, then moving on to their next problem, "Now then, bats, bats, bats—how do we fight bats?"

Unbeknownst to him, Kenny had snuck around him, and approached the fire alarm. Without hesitation, he pushed his elbow into the red alarm, setting it off. A moment later they heard the Krillitaines outside the door screaming in pain.

The Doctor laughed in delight, and then ran straight out the door, and past the screaming aliens. Rose, Mickey, Sarah Jane, and Kenny followed suit, and Mickey split off after a moment to get all the other children out of the school.

As they ran, a voice called out to them, "Master!" K-9's voice cried, and the Doctor looked down in delight.

"Good boy!" He shouted, "Come on!"

Upon their arrival in the kitchen, the Doctor immediately began sonicing the barrels of Krillitane oil, and slowly became more disappointed, "They're deadlock-sealed," He observed, "Finch must've done that, I can't open them."

Rose rolled her eyes, "Great, now how're we gonna get rid of them?" She asked impatiently.

Luckily, K-9 had a backup plan, "The vats would not withstand a direct hit from my laser," He said robotically, "But my batteries are failing."

The Doctor nodded, "Right," He said, realizing what the small, robotic dog intended to do, "Everyone, out the back door. K-9, stay with me."

He looked over at Rose, who nodded at him in understanding, "Come on!" She said urgently, placing a hand on Kenny's back, and moving him towards the exit, "We've got to go!" Then she, Sarah Jane, and the kid made their way out of the school, and towards safety.

The four of them waited just outside the kitchen doors anxiously for a moment, waiting for the Doctor and K-9 to come out. Sarah Jane had been nervously picking at a thread on her jacket, and Rose was half hoping that they would hear a big "BOOM!" And nothing would happen. The Krillitaines and the Doctor would be dead. Two birds in one stone. But on the other hand, she still wanted it to be her hands that ended the Doctor's life, not someone else's. That other hand held on to the hope that he hadn't died just yet, that his life was still hers to take.

Suddenly the door slammed open, and the Doctor ran out with the sonic in his hand, a mixture of relief and disappointment flooded through Rose as she watched him sonic the door shut. "We need to run," He muttered.

"Where's K-9?" Sarah Jane asked, looking around them. The Doctor wrapped his arms around her waist, and urged her forward, Rose and Kenny following suit.

As they ran, an explosion occurred behind them, nearly knocking the ganger off of her feet. "Whoa!" she shouted.

"Keep running!" The Doctor screamed back at her as they ran into the crowd of children Mickey had just rescued, who were cheering and throwing their schoolwork into the air.

Rose looked on at the celebration, trying her hardest to keep a poker face, and hide the fact that she was secretly loathing all the noise. However, she sensed that she was failing as her vision lined red again, and Mickey took a step in front of her, and waved his hand in front of her face worriedly. She blinked a few times, and the red faded away, "What is it?" She asked, "What's wrong?"

Mickey shook his head, "Nothing, it's just… You had this look on your face," He replied, "Like you were…"

"Like I was what?"

"Angry, murderous even. You sure you're alright?"

The blonde smiled, and gave him a nod, "Absolutely, I'm just tired," She lied, "All this saving the world means I don't get enough sleep. Especially not with the Doctor waking me up at odd hours of the night every so often."

The man beside her laughed, "Sounds like something he'd do," He said, looking around the chaotic scene before him, "So, now that everything's done here; is this the part where you two head back to the TARDIS and congratulate yourself on the day's victory?"

Rose thought for a moment, "I guess so," She said, giving him a genuine smile, "Want to come along?"

This time, Mickey took a moment to think, "Sure," He replied, then he linked his arm through hers, and they walked off to find the time lord and Sarah Jane.

A few hours later they'd all gathered in the TARDIS waiting for Sarah Jane to join them. The Doctor had wanted to say one last goodbye before he left her for good, feeling as if this time she deserved a proper one. They were sitting in the console room, Mickey and Rose telling jokes, the Doctor watching the monitor for signs of the arrival of his former companion, and the TARDIS humming quietly in the background.

After a while, Sarah Jane appeared in the courtyard they'd parked in, and the Doctor walked out to open the door for her, "Cuppa tea?" He asked politely, receiving a brief nod in response before the two walked into the enormous ship.

"You've redecorated," Sarah Jane observed as Rose stood from the bench on the other side of the console.

"Do you like it?" The Doctor asked.

"Yes," She breathed, "I do. I preferred it as it was, but… It'll do."

"I like it," Rose said from behind her.

Sarah Jane turned around and grinned at the blonde, "What's 47 times 369?" She asked.

Rose shrugged, "No idea," She replied, "It's gone now." And it truly was, all the intelligent, swift responses that she'd been able to conjure up earlier were gone, obliterated with the Krillitanes.

"But you're still clever," Sarah Jane murmured, "More than a match for him." She pointed to the Doctor as she spoke.

The blonde nodded, "Thank you," She said, then she turned away, "Doctor?"

The time lord in question had been fiddling with a few of the TARDIS' controls as they'd been talking, and his head perked up upon hearing his name, "Um, we're about to head off," He confessed, "You could come with us."

Sarah Jane looked at the three of them hesitantly, then she began to shake her head, "I can't do this anymore," She replied, "Besides, I've got a much bigger adventure ahead. Time I stropped waiting for you, and found a life of my own." The Doctor gave her a brief smile, then he continued fiddling with the controls.

Mickey interrupted the brief silence, "Can I come?" He asked suddenly, "With you?" He looked up at the Doctor, "Cause I'm not the tin dog, and I want to see what's out there."

The time lord looked up, seeming hesitant, but then Sarah Jane's laughter echoed throughout the ship, "Oh, go on, Doctor!" She exclaimed, "You need a Smith on board."

"Okay, then. I could do with a laugh," The Doctor said, looking over at Rose, whose expression was unreadable.

"Rose, is that okay?" Mickey asked.

The blonde turned to him, and gave him a nod. It was certainly okay with her, he was the only person she could tolerate, the only person who even remotely disliked the Doctor as much as she did. "It's great," She said kindly, "Really, great."

"I'd better go," Sarah Jane said suddenly, approaching Rose, who stiffened nervously.

"What are you doing?" She asked.

"Saying goodbye, Rose," The woman responded.

"Oh, okay," Rose replied as Sarah Jane wrapped her arms around her.

For a second, Rose thought it was a normal hug, then she heard Sarah Jane whisper something in her ear, "You know he's in love with you too, right?" She whispered, "You can see it in his eyes."

As they pulled away, Rose looked at the brunette in confusion, "But I don't…"

"I think you do," Sarah Jane laughed, "It's alright, no harm done, but you should be careful Rose, he's had one too many heartbreaks over the centuries, and I think sometimes he lets it get to him. Just be there for him, alright?"

Rose nodded, "Sure," She lied, then she watched as Sarah walked away from her, and let the Doctor lead her out of the ship.

Rose then leaned against one of the corals of the TARDIS, and let a wicked grin spread across her face, watching as the Doctor and Sarah Jane made their last goodbyes. "Oh, I'll be there for him, alright," She said to herself, "I'll be there until the day he dies."


	7. TGitF: Paris Snow

That night, Rose lay restlessly in her bedroom tossing her phone in the air and catching it over again. She'd turned it off an hour earlier, since the damned thing was incessantly beeping to tell her she had twenty unread text messages from her mother. She didn't even know that Jackie Tyler knew how to type a text message.

Eventually, out of pure boredom, she'd turned the phone on again and started reading the messages, all of which said things like, "When are you coming home," or, "How often am I going to see you," or more messages about how much she missed her daughter. Rose rolled her eyes; her "mother" could be truly pathetic sometimes.

In the midst of reading the final message—something about breaking up with Howard—Rose received another one, this time apologizing for all the messages she'd sent. The blonde wasn't feeling particularly forgiving, and allowed the phone to slip from her hands, and onto the floor. "That's it," She muttered, swinging her legs over the side of the bedroom, and walking out into the TARDIS hallways.

She could hear the ship give her what resembled a low growl as she walked deeper into its never ending space, and she casually jabbed her elbow into the wall of the ship, hoping it could feel some inkling of pain—or at least irritation. The growl grew quiet after that, and Rose grinned wildly at the ceiling, "Just remember what I'll do to you if you tell him," She murmured, "Don't think I won't."

Ever since she'd first come on to the TARDIS a few days ago and realized the ship knew who she was, the two hadn't gotten along. Every chance she had she'd take a dig at the bigger on the inside bitch, reminding her who truly had the power here. It certainly didn't help the TARDIS' case that she couldn't talk, and Rose could.

And with that, she carried on, beginning to explore the hallways, passing closed door after closed door, and eventually stopping at one open one, which led into what looked like a library. Rose walked inside, and found ripples of light illuminating the ceiling, it looked almost as if there were some sort of pool—there was a god damn pool in the middle of the library. She let out an amused chuckle. What sort of moron would put a pool so close to this many books?

"Hello, Rose," The Doctor said suddenly, and she whipped her head to the left, her eyes falling on the time lord, who was leaning against a bookshelf with a book in his hands.

"Hello, Doctor," She replied, feeling her heart race as if she'd been caught doing something she shouldn't.

"What're you doing here?" He asked, "It's the middle of the night."

Rose gave him a light chuckle, and walked closer until she was leaning against the same wide bookshelf he was, "Couldn't sleep," She confessed, possibly the first truthful thing she'd told him since she'd came to Earth, "Just feeling a little restless."

He nodded in understanding, and looked down at his chucks, "Same for me," He said quietly, kicking at the ground. A silence fell between them, and neither of them looked at the other. Rose sensed a tension building between the two, unsure of whether it was romantic, sexual, or plain awkwardness. She suspected it was probably all three.

"What're you reading?" She asked, lifting a finger to his book, and stealing it from his hands. She was a little surprised at how willing he was to give it to her, considering the man in Rose's memories usually kept a lot of things hidden, but when she looked at the cover, it was simply the fourth Harry Potter book. She scoffed, "This again?" She asked.

"Oi!" He exclaimed, "Don't act like you don't come in here at night and reread these books too! I've even seen you weeping over the last one."

It took all of Rose's strength not to laugh at her other self. Crying over a book? Really? How weak. Mercifully, she kept her poker face, "Oh, alright, you've got me there," She said, shooting him Rose's infamous tongue in cheek grin.

He smiled kindly at her, with so much emotion in his eyes that Rose wanted to puke. This man was so enamored with his companion—he had no idea that she'd become a completely different person, that she was no longer his Rose.

"Care to join me?" He asked, reaching behind a shelf, and pulling out another copy of the same book.

Rose thought for a moment, then reached forward, and took it from his hands, "Sure," She replied, running a hand through her hair as she turned around, and headed for a table by the pool, the Doctor following closely behind her. She felt the bloodlust rise, but it wasn't strong enough for her to want to kill just yet. However, she sensed her real self's unease, and decided to instead act on that. Knowing that the real Rose had feelings for the Doctor was making this a lot more fun, and it was part of the reason why she'd been procrastinating on killing him, because she enjoyed torturing her.

They sat down in unison, both taking a deep breath before opening their books. Rose's eyes drifted over the top of the first page, and locked on his. They both blushed, and looked away. He didn't seem to notice that Rose had rolled her eyes before she returned to looking at the book's pages.

"Are you going to stare at me all night or read, Rose Tyler?" He asked, glancing at her from behind the thick novel.

The blonde grinned, "I could probably do both, but we'll see which one's more fun," She teased, winking at him before she finally let her eyes rest on the first page.

The two sat in silence for a few hours, Rose finding herself quite entranced by the story despite knowing what had happened from the other Rose's memory. Perhaps it was the fact that it was her first time experiencing it through her own eyes rather than someone else's. Or maybe it was because she was ever so slightly similar to Rose—they shared the same DNA after all.

When those hours were over, Rose was in the middle of seeing Harry nearly die in the first stage of the tri-wizard tournament before she was interrupted by Mickey Smith, who ran into the library panting.

"I was just in the front there…" He panted, "Is it supposed to make that noise?"

The Doctor's head snapped up instantly, "What noise?" He asked worriedly, standing up and running out of the library.

As soon as he was gone, Rose stood up, and smiled shyly at Mickey, "Looks like the day's adventure has begun," She said, then she looked down at their clothes, both of them were still in their pajamas, "We may want to get changed."

Mickey groaned, "What, I can't go traveling in this?" He asked, gesturing to his black trousers and grey t-shirt.

Rose shook her head, "Wouldn't want to walk in on some fancy, fourteenth century English ball looking like that, would you?" She asked in response.

He shook his head, "Suppose not," He replied.

"Then let's move!"

Within minutes the two were dressed and ready to go, and they walked into the console room together, watching as the Doctor pressed several buttons and pulled various levers to fly the TARDIS through the time vortex. "What's going on?" Rose asked, walking until she was right next to him.

"She's picked up on some sort of signal, very faint, but…"

"But what?"

"There's something odd about it… Out of place, like it's in two different places at once…"

Rose grinned as she rested her head on his shoulder, "So, we're going to investigate then?"

He turned his head in her direction, "Absolutely," He replied, pressing one last button, and shouting, "Allonsy!"

The ship shook for a moment, then it stopped, telling them that they'd landed successfully. The Doctor grinned, looked at Rose, and then turned to Mickey, "So, Mickey Smith," He said, catching the man's attention, "Ready for your first adventure?"

An expression of child-like delight danced across Mickey's features, and he eagerly ran up next to them, "Ready as I'll ever be," He replied.

With one last grin, The Doctor pushed the doors open, and the three of them stepped out… into an empty space ship.

"Wow," Mickey breathed, "I got a spaceship on my first go!"

Rose looked around at the slightly smelly ship, and frowned, "It looks kind of abandoned," She observed, "Anyone on board?"

"Nah, nothing here," The Doctor replied, "Well, nothing dangerous… well… not that dangerous. You know what? I'll just have a quick scan, in case there's anything dangerous." He then began to toy with a part of the ship that was clearly broken, and no longer working.

Rose chose that moment to ask him just where the hell she was, "Doctor, when the hell are we?"

"About 3,000 years into your future," He replied nonchalantly, "Give or take."

His meddling fingers then found one button that seemed to be working, and he pressed it. The roof above them opened to reveal a beautiful sky full of stars, constellations, and whole galaxies. Rose almost gasped at its beauty. "Fifty first century," The Doctor informed her, "Dagmar cluster, you're a long way from home, Mickey. Two and a half galaxies."

Wow. Two and a half galaxies? She was so far away from Earth… From Demon's Run…

She gulped down her fear, and turned to Mickey, who was staring out the window, "See anything you like?" She asked.

He looked back at her, his lips spread wide in a delighted smile, "It's so realistic," he breathed.

Behind them, the Doctor spoke again, "Dear me, had some cowboys in here," he muttered, picking up a bunch of knotted wires, "Got a ton of repair work going on." He then tossed the wires aside, and walked away as Rose once again stood by his side.

Casually sliding her hand into his, Rose put her innocent act into full gear, "What's going on, Doctor?" She asked.

"All the warp engines are going," He replied, ignoring her, "Full capacity… There's enough power running through this ship to punch a hole in the universe, but we're not moving… So where's all that power going?"

Rose gave his hand a squeeze, directing his attention to the empty space around them, "Where'd all the crew go?" She asked, "They've got to be somewhere."

The Doctor nodded, "Good question, no life readings on board," he replied.

"Well, we're in deep space, they didn't just nip out for a quick smoke."

"Nope, checked all the smoking pods."

Suddenly, Mickey sniffed the air, "Can you smell that?" He asked, diverting their attention from each other.

The Doctor sniffed next, "Can you smell that?" he asked Rose, who gave him a nod.

"Someone's cooking," She replied, feeling uncomfortably familiar with the smell that was wafting up her nose.

"Sunday roast, definitely," Mickey commented as the Doctor continued to fiddle with the ship's buttons.

Next thing they knew, a door was opening behind them, revealing an eighteenth century French fireplace, fire burning brightly. "Well, there's something you don't see on your average space ship," The Doctor muttered, tugging on Rose's hand as he approached the door. She reluctantly followed, her bad feeling about the place was growing more and more by the second.

The Doctor's eyes wandered over the fireplace curiously, "Eighteenth century," He observed, "French. Nice mantel." He then reached into his pocket with his free hand, and brought out the sonic. Rose then took a step back, and let him do his work as he examined the mysterious mantle.

"Not a hologram," He said, "Not even a reproduction."

Rose looked over his shoulder curiously, "Think they might've gone shopping then? Thieves maybe?" She asked.

"Good theory, but I doubt it," He replied, "But this shows no signs of having been taken from somewhere… And look, it's double sided. There's another room through there."

He bent down close to the ground, and looked straight through the fireplace, where he could see what looked like a child's bedroom on the other side.

"It can't be," Mickey breathed, "That's the other side of the ship, look."

The other two ignored him, their focus intent on the other side of the fireplace, where a young blonde girl reminiscent of Rose appeared before them. "Hello," The Doctor said kindly.

"Hello," The blonde replied, looking at the three of them curiously.

"What's your name?" He asked, and Rose watched in disbelief as the two conversed through the strange, two-sided fireplace.

"Reinette," The girl answered.

"Reinette, that's a lovely name," The Doctor said, then he looked at Rose,.

"If the outside is the hull of the ship, what the hell is this?" She whispered.

"I don't know."

"Um, excuse me," Reinette said, interrupting the two of them, "What ship?"

Neither of them responded, the Doctor instead changed the subject, "Reinette, could you tell me where you are?" He asked.

"I'm in my bedroom."

"And… where's your bedroom? Where do you live, Reinette?"

"Paris of course."

Rose rolled her eyes, the child's way of speaking irritating her more than usual. "Like we're supposed to know," She mumbled to herself.

"Paris, right," The Doctor said, glancing briefly at Rose, but not sure of what she'd said.

"Monsieur, what are you doing in my fireplace?" Reinette asked.

"Oh, it's just a routine… fire check… Can you tell me what year it is?"

"Of course I can. 1727."

"Right, lovely, one of my favorites. August is rubbish, though. Stay indoors. Okay, that's all for now. Thanks for your help. Hope you enjoy the rest of the fire. Night-night."

Reinette looked at him confusedly, "Good night, monsieur," She said as he and Rose stood up, and faced away from the fireplace. The two exchanged worried glances at each other briefly before Mickey spoke up.

"You said this was the fifty first century!" He exclaimed.

"I also said this ship was generating enough power to punch a hole in the universe. I think we just found the hole," The Doctor replied, "Must be a spatiotemporal hyperlink."

"What's that?" Mickey asked.

The Doctor shook his head, "No idea, just made it up," he admitted, "Didn't want to say 'magic door.'"

Rose cleared her throat, "And on the other side of this 'magic door,' is France in 1727?" She asked.

The Doctor nodded, "Well, she was speaking French," He replied, "Right period French, too."

The confusion was evident on Mickey's face as the Doctor walked away from them, and took off his coat, "But she was speaking English, I heard her," He protested.

Rose patted their new companion on the shoulder, "That's the TARDIS—translates for you," She explained. Oh how new Mickey was to all of this. He'd certainly made traveling with the Doctor more interesting, having someone else around other than him. Just being alone with him all the time was getting quite boring, because when they weren't traveling, he was nerdily babbling.

"Even French?" Mickey asked, to which he received a "yup" from Rose as the Doctor walked back over to them. He looked over the mantle for a moment, and Rose let go of Mickey's shoulder to watch what he was doing.

She watched as his hands glided over the smooth, wooden structure, searching for something that may not be there. After a moment, he found it, and grinned wildly at his companion, "Gotcha!" He exclaimed, pulling his hand up, and pressing some sort of lever. Rose gasped as the ground beneath her feet began to spin, causing her to lose balance. She quickly grabbed hold of the mantle, and screamed, "Doctor!" as they finished spinning.

She took a few seconds to gather herself, panting all the while, "I swear if you ever do that to me again, I'll kill you," She muttered, actually quite willing to keep that promise.

He said nothing to her, and she looked around at the place she was now in to find that it was night time wherever she was, and she was in someone's bedroom, a child's bedroom. On the far side of the room, there was an ornately decorated bed, and a child sleeping peacefully on it. Reinette.

The Doctor slowly walked across the room, and Rose followed suit, trying her hardest not to wake Reinette, for she found the French girl to be rather annoying. It didn't help that she didn't like children. "Doctor, what are we doing?" She whispered. He simply pressed a finger to his lips in response, and walked further into the room.

They slowly walked up to the window, and the time lord brushed aside a curtain to reveal a beautiful, snow covered, street lamp lit Paris. "Wow," he breathed, stepping a little to the side to allow Rose to see.

She couldn't help the gasp that escaped from her lips, "Wow," She said in the exact same tone as the Doctor's, "It's beautiful." She could feel his eyes slip from the sights of Paris to her, studying her face. There was no time to put a poker face on now, she was full on awestruck. Not even the most wicked of villains could deny that the view she was seeing was one of the most beautiful sights on this planet.

Tearing her eyes away from the snowy Paris, she looked up into the Doctor's brown eyes, and instantly, she was herself again. However, she kept the mystified expression, "This is wonderful," She confessed, glancing briefly out the window then back at him.

He chuckled lightly, "It certainly is," he said, not giving the window so much as a brief flick of the eye. Rose got the sense that he wasn't talking about Paris at all, and inched closer to him, feeling the Real Rose's pain in the back of her mind as she realized what her ganger was about to do.

"I could never get used to a view like this," She whispered, her face mere inches from his, everything else was all blurred out.

Suddenly his hand was on her arm, pulling her closer to him, "Neither could I." Then they moved even closer together. _Holy shit,_ Rose thought, _he's going to do it, this sorry son of a bitch is actually going to kiss her—me—her—oh fuck it._

Before their lips could actually touch, however, they heard Reinette gasp herself awake, and they turned to find her sitting straight up in bed. The Doctor pulled himself away from Rose instantly, and headed in the child's direction, "Dammit," Rose muttered to herself, before following in the Doctor's footsteps.

"It's okay, don't scream," She heard him say as she approached them, "It's me, it's the fireplace man, look." He took out his sonic screwdriver, and pointed it at a candle next to her bed, it buzzed for a moment, then the candle was lit, and he put it back in his pocket. "Do you remember? We were talking a moment ago."

Reinette's terrified eyes darted between them, then slowly, recognition dawned on her face. "Monsieur, that was weeks ago," Reinette said quietly, "Months."

The Doctor glanced back at Rose worriedly, and the blonde stepped closer with a confused expression on her face, "Are you sure? Cause it was just a few seconds for us," She said casually.

"Must be a loose connection," the time lord muttered, then he walked over to the mantle and began tapping on it, "You need to get a man in."

Rose almost laughed before Reinette spoke again, 'Who are you? What are you doing here?" She asked.

The Doctor froze at that moment, his eyes stuck on a clock that had been placed on top of the mantle, none of the hands moving, yet there was a mysterious ticking noise that could be heard throughout the room. "Doctor, what's wrong?" Rose asked, stepping closer to him.

He looked back at her, "The clock's broken, Rose," he replied.

She stepped even closer, looking over his shoulder at the clock, "And…?"

"And I can hear ticking."

The three people in the room paused for a moment, listening to the now frightening ticking noise that did not increase in pace, or slow down. It was a steady second by second rhythm that could easily be mistaken for the noise of a clock. Unfortunately, there was no other clock in the room, at least not that Rose could see. So what was that noise?

"You see, that's not a clock," the Doctor murmured, "You can tell by the resonance. Too big. Six feet I'd say."

Rose and Reinette were slowly becoming more worried. What else was in the room with them? Did it have something to do with the connection between France and the spaceship? What was it?

"Doctor, are you implying that something else is in this room with us?" Rose asked.

He nodded, "That's exactly what I'm implying," he replied, "Whatever it is, it's the size of a man…"

"What is it?" Reinette asked, looking around the room in fear, but seeing nothing.

The Doctor didn't respond, "If you were a thing that ticked and you were hiding in someone's bedroom, first thing you do—break the clock," he said, "No one notices the sound of one clock ticking, but two? You might start to wonder if you're really alone."

Rose gulped nervously as he approached Reinette's bed for the second time that night, "Doctor, what's happening?" She asked.

"I don't know," he replied, kneeling down by the young girl's bed, "Reinette, stay on the bed—right in the middle. Don't put your hands or feet over the edge."

"You taking her on an amusement park ride, Doctor?" Rose asked teasingly.

The Doctor ignored his companion, and bent down to get a look at the source of the ticking. Rose watched as he stuck his head under a little, pressed a button on the sonic, and jumped back as something lunged at him. "What the hell?" Rose asked, her eyes shifting to the other side of the bed where there was now a man in a creepy mask staring straight at her. "Doctor," she said quietly as he stood up.

As his eyes landed on the strange ticking man, his mouth opened in an O, "Reinette, don't look round. You stay exactly where you are," he said standing tall, then looking between the child and the ticking creature, "Hold still, let me look." He bent down, and placed his hands on either side of her head, and sat quietly for a moment.

"Doctor, the ticking man…" Rose warned, thoroughly creeped out by the creature despite the fact that it hadn't moved since it got out from under Reinette's bed.

"You've been scanning her brain," the Doctor said suddenly, "What, you crossed two galaxies and thousands of years just to scan a child's brain? What could there be in a little girl's mind worth blowing a hole in the universe?"

Upon hearing this, Reinette's facial features contorted to convey confusion, "I don't understand," she whispered, "It wants me?" She turned to face the creature, "You want me?"

In a moment that deeply shocked them all, the ticking thing spoke, "Not yet," it said robotically, "You are incomplete."

The Doctor stood up again, and reached his hand out for Rose, who reluctantly took it, and stood by his side. "What does it mean, incomplete?" She asked curiously, but the creature gave no response, "Answer me, please."

"I don't think it will, Rose," the Doctor mumbled, taking out his sonic screwdriver, and pointing it at the creature like a sort of weapon, "You can answer her, or you can answer me. Now what do you mean, incomplete?"

Suddenly, the creature turned its head, and began to walk to the other side of the bed, towards the Doctor and Rose. Once it reached them, it extended its arm, and a blade shot out from within it, missing Rose's throat by less than an inch.

"Be careful!" Reinette warned from her position on her bed.

Rose could hear the growl in the Doctor's voice as he spoke, "It's just a nightmare Reinette," he said, "Don't worry about it."

The blonde standing beside him coughed, "Um, Doctor," She whispered, "I'd really prefer if I didn't have to stand here with this thing at my throat all night."

Next thing they knew, the creature raised its arm, and charged them, forcing them to back up. "Everyone has nightmares," the Doctor told Reinette, attempting to distract her from his and Rose's potential murder, "Even monsters from under the bed have nightmares, don't you monster?"

"Doctor!" Rose screamed as they were finally backed into the mantle again, and the creature raised its blade again, and struck the mantle space between the time lord and the ganger.

"What do monsters have nightmares about?" Reinette asked.

The Doctor and Rose looked at each other, and she gave him a look that warned him not to say what she knew he was going to say, but he said it anyway. "Me!" He cried, pushing the lever on the mantle, "Ha!"

And with that, the two of them spun around, and arrived back on the ship with Mickey gaping at the odd pair, and a hideous robotic ticking thing standing in between them.


	8. TGitF: Problems with Rose

As soon as the mantle stopped rotating, the Doctor ran off in another direction, and Rose ran to Mickey's side staring at the robotic man in horror. The robot was mercifully preoccupied with trying to free itself, and wasn't able to hurt her at the moment.

Unfortunately, that quickly changed, and the ticking robot finally managed to free itself from the mantle… Just as the Doctor came at it with some oddly shaped gun, and sprayed what appeared to be a white powder all over it. The robot thrashed around in the white for a moment, then suddenly it was still.

"Fire extinguisher," the time lord explained, tossing the enormous thing to Rose.

She looked at the now frozen creature curiously, "Where did it come from, though?" She asked, knowing the Doctor would have some sort of answer. All she knew about it was she wanted it gone. It had tried to kill her. That robot was now on the very top of her kill list.

"Here," the Doctor replied, motioning to the ship around them.

"So, why's it dressed like that?" Mickey asked.

The Doctor shrugged, "Field trip to France, some kind of basic camouflage protocol," he guessed, "Nice needlework, shame about the face." The time lord then reached his hand out, and removed the mask and wig from the robot, revealing a completely see-through, faceless head.

Through the horrific looking head, Rose could see the golden colored machinery that must have been powering it, "Wow," she breathed.

"You are beautiful!" the Doctor exclaimed, his eyes drifting over the various parts of the robot, "No, really, you are, you're gorgeous! Look at that! Space-age clockwork, I love it. I've got chills!"

Rose rolled her eyes, "You're getting carried away again, Doctor," she muttered. He didn't seem to hear what she'd said, and he continued babbling on and on about how "beautiful" the killer clock was.

"Listen, seriously, I mean this from the heart," he said, practically beaming at the awful thing, "It would be a crime, it would be an act of vandalism to disassemble you. But that won't stop me. You tried to kill my companion, which was rather rude of you."

_You're damn right it was,_ Rose thought.

The Doctor then held the sonic screwdriver in the robot's face, and it began to move, shifting its head a little, and then disappearing upwards in what appeared to be some sort of teleport. "Short range teleport, couldn't have gone far," the time lord muttered, "Could still be on board."

Rose cleared her throat, finally turning his attention on her, "What is it?" She asked impatiently.

"Don't go looking for it," he replied, walking over to the mantle once again.

"Where are you going?"

"Be back in a sec."

She shook her head, "Not without me, you're not," she replied, running over to the mantle and dropping the fire extinguisher near Mickey's feet.

"Oh, alright," the Doctor mumbled.

"Oi, you can't just leave me back here all by myself," Mickey protested, putting his hands on his hips.

The Doctor shook his head, "Someone needs to explore the ship, figure out what's happening on this side," he replied, "You have a talent for getting your way into things… It'd best be you."

Mickey slowly nodded, though there was a visible flash of disappointment in his eyes, "Oh, alright," he muttered, then he picked up the fire extinguisher, and walked down the hall where the TARDIS was parked, leaving the Doctor and Rose to themselves.

"You ready?" the Doctor asked once they were alone.

She placed her hand on the mantle, and gave him a wicked grin, "Always," she replied.

The Doctor beamed at her, then he pushed the lever, and they spun around back into eighteenth century France.

When they finished spinning, it was daylight in Reinette's bedroom, and a lot had changed. The bed no longer had that childish look to it; it was taller, more golden colors instead of Reinette's usual red, and no stuffed animals either—those had definitely been gone for a while. There was now a harp in the corner of the room, and a small vanity just across from the bed. All these new details intrigued Rose. How long had they been gone from the young girl's life?

"Reinette?" the Doctor called out. There was no response, and he looked at Rose, who shrugged. She was just as clueless as he was.

"This room's changed," Rose said, pointing out the various changes she'd observed in the room. The Doctor looked around, and she watched his brows furrow together as he too took in the changes.

He ran a hand through his hair, "Looks like a lot of time has passed," he observed, "Reinette? Are you here? We're just checking to see if you're okay." The time lord then began to fiddle with the harp in the corner, his fingers gently stroking the strings. He was oblivious to the sound of approaching footsteps behind him, but Rose wasn't.

She watched as a young woman entered the room, blonde hair tightly pinned back, and her hands held together in front of her as she approached them. "Doctor," Rose whispered quietly, wondering who the mysterious woman in front of her was, and why she was looking at them as if she knew them.

The Doctor looked up at Rose, who pointed a finger behind him, and he turned around, at last seeing the woman. "Oh, hello," he said politely, "Um, I was just looking for Reinette. Uh, this is still her room, isn't it? I've been away—not sure how long."

Before the blonde woman could say anything, a voice called out from somewhere else in the palace, "Reinette! We're ready to go!"

"Go to the carriage, mother, I will join you there," the blonde woman, who Rose now realized was Reinette, replied.

She watched as the recognition dawned on the Doctor's face, and the corners of his mouth turned up in a smile. The blonde rolled her eyes, not pleased with the Doctor's seemingly delighted expression upon realizing the woman was Reinette.

"It is customary, I think, to have an imaginary friend only during one's childhood," Reinette said, interrupting Rose's negative thoughts, "You are to be congratulated on your persistence."

"Reinette, well," he breathed, gulping nervously, "Goodness, how you've grown."

Rose raised an eyebrow at the Doctor's reaction to the other blonde in the room. Was he nervous? He certainly seemed so, the smiling, the nervous swallowing, and the tiniest hint of sweat appearing on his forehead. _Oh no,_ Rose thought, _he's attracted to her. Great, just great._ She just had to have the biggest whore in the universe for her target, didn't she? It wasn't exactly an exaggeration. In Rose's memories there were mentions of Michaelangelo, Madame Curie, John F. Kennedy, Audrey Hepburn, Queen Elizabeth the Second... She could go on.

"And you do not appear to have aged a single day," Reinette replied, walking closer to them, "Or you," she added, glancing at Rose, "That is tremendously impolite of you."

"Right, yes, sorry, um… um…um… listen, lovely to catch up, but uh, better be off, eh?"

Rose slammed a palm into her forehead, what a bumbling idiot. Weren't the time lords supposed to be smart? Hadn't Madame Kovarian mentioned that? Perhaps he was, though he just wasn't very intelligent in the art of flirting. Especially with her.

"Don't want your mother finding you up here with a strange man, do we?" He asked.

Reinette shook her head, "Strange?" She asked in response, "How could you be a stranger to me? I've known you both since I was seven years old."

"Yeah," the Doctor replied, nodding slowly, "I suppose you have. Ha, I came the quick route."

Rose desperately tried to hold in a chuckle at what he'd just said, her immature side taking over for a moment. She found it easy to not laugh when Reinette reached up her hand, and caressed the Doctor's cheek. At that moment, alarms went off in her head, partially from her own anger, and partially from the other Rose's jealousy.

"You seem to be flesh and blood, at any rate," Reinette murmured, "But this is absurd. Reason tells me you cannot be real."

"I didn't think he was real either when I first met him," Rose replied.

The Doctor grinned, "That's right, and you never want to listen to reason, Reinette," he said.

"Mademoiselle! Your mother grows impatient!" another voice called from outside.

Reinette briefly turned her head towards the voice, "A moment!" She shouted back, then she looked back at the Doctor, still in extremely close proximity to the time lord, "So many questions, so little time."

"Suppose you'd best be leaving then," Rose said, hoping to interrupt what looked like an imminent kiss in the making. Reinette gave her what almost looked like a glare, then she turned back to the Doctor.

"Until next time…" She whispered, then she ran out the doors of her bedroom, and out into the hallway, just as someone cried out her name once again. "Madamoiselle Poisson!"

Less than a moment after she'd left, a man in a servant's uniform walked in, and stared oddly at the Doctor and Rose. "Poisson," the Doctor said quietly, looking over at Rose as if he expected her to understand what he was trying to say. She looked at him in confusion, and he looked back at the servant man who'd just entered, "Reinette Poisson? No, no, no, no, no way! Reinette Poisson?"

"Doctor, what are you going on about?" Rose asked, mildly irritated, and desperately wanting to leave France.

"Reinette Poisson," he continued, "Later Madame d'Etiolles? Later still, mistress of Louis the fifteenth? Uncrowned queen of France?" He backed himself into the mantle, and laughed in delight. Rose simply glared at him, not that he'd noticed, he was too busy going on about the gorgeous blonde that had just come in and taken his eyes right off of his companion. "Actress, artist, musician, dancer, courtesan… Fantastic gardener!"

"Who the hell are you?" the servant-man finally asked after ages of just watching the Doctor blabber on about Reinette. Rose was quite frankly glad that he'd finally managed to shut the Doctor up… Reinette irritated her, and the fact that he wouldn't shut up about her wasn't helping.

"I'm the Doctor," the time lord replied, "and this is Rose."

Rose gave the servant an unenthusiastic wave, then she joined the Doctor by the mantle. "Are we leaving now?" she asked.

He nodded, "And we're leaving now," he replied, winking as he looked the servant in the eyes, and pushed the lever. Within seconds, the time lord and his companion were safe on the other side, at least, as safe as they could be on a ship that was potentially full of killer robotic ticking things.

The Doctor was immediately in action, running out from the mantle, calling out Mickey's name, "Mickey?"

Rose walked up to him, "I don't think he stayed here, Doctor," she said, "You did kind of tell him to figure out what was going on on this side of the um… time portal thing."

He cocked his head in Rose's direction, "True," he replied, "Come on, let's go find him." His hand reached out for hers, and she reluctantly took it, letting him lead her into the depths of the mysterious spaceship.

"Hope he's alright," the Doctor said as they walked, "You never know what you'll find on a ship like this."

The instant the words left his mouth they rounded a corner to find… A horse. It was just staring at them, its hooves picking at the ground, and neighing. Rose immediately burst out laughing, grabbing onto the Doctor's shoulder to keep herself standing. She couldn't help it! Of all the odd things she expected from this ship, she was able to say a white horse was not one of them.

She looked up to find the time lord staring down at her with an almost adoring smile on his face, and she slowly stopped laughing. "I'm sorry," she blurted out, "It's just…"

"No, I understand," he confessed, letting out an amused chuckle, "I almost had the same reaction. Come on, let's go find Mickey." The two then walked past the horse, and made their way through the ship to find their missing friend.

As they walked past the various parts of the ship, the smell of someone cooking grew stronger, and it began to make Rose feel very uncomfortable. It was seeming less and less likely by the minute that the smell was coming from a Sunday roast, and more like it was from... could that smell possibly be human flesh?

Rose raised an intrigued eyebrow at the thought, but ignored it, figuring she could deal with whatever it was later. Right now, she had to be Rose Tyler, who cared very much for the two people she was traveling with, and was most certainly not a murderous psychopath.

Suddenly she sensed a presence close behind her, and when she turned around she almost laughed again at the sight of the white horse. "I think we've made a friend, Doctor," she said, poking his side with her finger.

He turned around, and shook his head, "I think we'll have to give him a name eventually," he muttered.

The two laughed and continued on down the hallway until they came to yet another set of doors. When they looked back, the horse was still following them. "Will you stop following me?" the Doctor asked, "I'm not your mother."

Rose almost found it funny, but then the Doctor was distracted by the doors, "Is this where you came from then?" he asked, looking at the horse again.

The time lord then pushed the doors opened, and the blonde attempted to follow him, but suddenly she was overwhelmed by a feeling of dizziness, and she groaned, "Doctor, I think I'm going to hang back here and look for Mickey," she muttered. He didn't seem to hear her, but the dizziness grew stronger, and she closed her eyes.

When she opened them she was in a white room with a few chairs, and several beeping machines that surrounded a long, white capsule. Rose quickly recognized it as the room on Demon's Run where the real Rose was being kept. Her eyes once again landed on the white capsule that stood at about three feet tall, and she slowly walked over to it.

Gulping nervously, Rose peered over the top of the capsule, through a small, eight by six inch window, and gazed at the sleeping face of the girl she was impersonating. In her unconscious state, the real Rose looked peaceful, innocent; though Rose knew that she was internally at war, and she was screaming. She was almost sorry for her, and she would've been, but her hatred for Rose overpowered any sympathy she might've felt.

The door behind Rose opened suddenly, and she whipped around to find herself face to face with Madame Kovarian. She straightened her posture immediately, and offered the woman a smile, "Madame, it's good to see you again," she said politely, "But how am I here?"

"Small vortex manipulator chip in your head, just in case we ever lost you, or needed to provide vital information," Kovarian explained, not returning Rose's smile, but her tight expression did soften slightly.

Rose nodded, and placed a hand on the capsule containing Rose, "How's my twin been?" She asked casually.

"She's been… odd, as of late," Koviarian replied, her heels clicking against the tiled floor as she approached Rose. She gazed into the small window, "She nearly woke up last night, she was mumbling his name."

"The Doctor's name."

"Yes, the Doctor's name."

Rose raised a worried eyebrow, and glanced down at the real Rose, "Is that why you've teleported me here?" she asked

Kovarian sighed, "Yes," she replied, "Unfortunately, I'm going to have to ask you to stall the Doctor's slaughter."

"What? Why?"

"I can't explain it to you, I'm afraid. If I do, she will figure out how to beat you, and she will ruin our plan. I am ordering you not to kill him. Not yet. You can kill him when I give the all clear."

The blonde gave Kovarian a look of confusion, but upon seeing the woman's glare at her, she nodded, "Alright, I won't kill him," she replied, "Not until you give the all clear."

"Good, now return to the Doctor, travel with him, continue to be his faithful companion until the time comes," Kovarian said, pressing a button on the wrist watch she was wearing.

As soon as she pressed the button, Rose felt the dizzy feeling again, and suddenly she was back on board the strange ship with a connection to eighteenth century France. "Alright, Rose," She said quietly, "Let's go find Mickey." The blonde then set off down the hallway, and called out his name.

"Mickey!" She cried, and only a second later she was answered with a, "Rose!" and the sound of footsteps around the corner in front of her. She met him somewhere in the middle, and he wrapped his arms around her.

"Rose, you'll never believe what I've seen," he said hurriedly, "There's a human heart hooked up to these wires, and there's this camera, but it's an eye—"

"Mickey, slow down," she breathed, "Take a deep breath." He did as she said, and she calmly pulled out of their embrace, "Now, tell me, what else did you see?"

He grinned, "Come here," he said, pulling on her hand, and leading her back down the hall he'd just come from. They didn't stop until they reached what looked like a window, through which they could see yet another scene from France, in a room with simple, yet elegant decorations. An ornate rug was on the floor, and on top of it was a sort of old fashioned love seat. Candles lined the walls, and provided the only light in the room, as it appeared to be night in France.

"It's France again," Rose muttered, "What's the big deal?"

Mickey shrugged, "I dunno, this one was just interesting…"

Rose narrowed her eyes at the window, watching as three men entered the room. "I think we're looking through a mirror," she thought aloud.

One of the men turned to the other two, and began to speak to them in a way that—judging from the men's faces—they weren't too happy about. It almost seemed as if he were bossily giving them orders. Mickey scoffed, "Blimey, look at this guy. Who does he think he is?"

Suddenly a voice behind them said, "King of France."

Rose spun around in shock to find the Doctor right behind her, "Oh, hello," she said, slightly stunned to see him, "What you been up to?"

"Oh, this and that," he said as the King of France approached the mirror, and gazed at his reflection, "Saw Reinette in her garden—Did I mention she was a lovely gardener? Oh, and I met a horse. Rose was there for that one."

As if on cue, the horse neighed beside him, and when Mickey turned his head, he stared at the horse in shock, "What's a horse doing on a spaceship?" he asked.

"Mickey, what's pre-revolutionary France doing on a spaceship?" the Doctor retaliated, "Get a little perspective." He reached his hand out for the mirror, "See these? They're all over the place. On every deck. Gateways to history." They watched through the mirror as Reinette walked in, and bowed to the king.

"But not just any history," Rose said, "Her history."

The Doctor nodded, "A time window… Deliberately arranged along the life of one particular woman," he muttered, "A spaceship from the fifty first century stalking a woman from the eighteenth. Why?"

Rose glared at Reinette as she cavalierly walked around the king, "Who is she?" she asked, trying to mask the bitchiness threatening to erupt in her voice.

"Jeanne-Antoinette Poisson," the Doctor replied, "Known to her friends as Reinette. One of the most accomplished women who ever lived."

"So, has she got plans of being the queen, then?"

"No, he's already got a queen. She's got plans of being his mistress."

The Doctor stared at the couple through the mirror curiously, "I think this is the night they met," he murmured as the king left Reinette alone in the room, "The night of the Yew-Tree ball. In no time flat, she'll get herself established as his official mistress with her own rooms at the palace, even her own title—Madame de Pompadour." As he finished speaking, Reinette walked up to the mirror, and began examining her appearance.

Rose couldn't help but to make faces at the woman, "The queen must have loved her," she commented.

"Oh, she did," the Doctor replied, "They got on very well."

"King's wife and the king's girlfriend?" Mickey asked, "Sounds a bit like you, mate. The whole… Sarah Jane thing."

The Doctor rolled his eyes, "France," he muttered, "Different planet."

Suddenly Reinette turned away from the mirror, and she appeared to be speaking to someone; someone who had appeared in the room while the Doctor, Rose, and Mickey were distracted with their own conversation. It was then that Rose's eyes landed on the broken clock on the other side of the room, and then drifted to a figure by the window. She let out a gasp as the figure turned around, and revealed itself to be one of the clockwork droids, "Doctor," she breathed nervously.

The time lord said nothing, instead, he grabbed the fire extinguisher from Mickey's hands, and pushed the mirror-time door open, "Hello, Reinette, hasn't time flown?" He asked as the three of them walked into the room.

"Fire-place man!" Reinette exclaimed in response.

The Doctor immediately set to work on the droid, spraying it with the extinguisher, then stopping once it was frozen. The droid began to shift, making Rose nervous that he hadn't quite done the job.

"What's it doing?" Mickey asked.

"Melting the ice," the Doctor replied casually.

"And then what?"

"Then it kills everyone in the room," the Doctor said, moving out of the way as the droid put its arm up, preparing to attack him again. "Focuses the mind, doesn't it?" He asked, "Who are you? Identify yourself."

The droid said nothing, and the Doctor sighed before looking over at Reinette, "Order it to answer me."

The blonde cocked her head in confusion, "Why should it listen to me?" she asked.

The Doctor shrugged, "I don't know," he replied honestly, "But it did when you were a child. Let's see if you've still got it."

Reinette gave him a nod, then looked at the droid, "Answer his question," she commanded it, "Answer any and all questions put to you."

Rose glanced over at the French woman, almost praising her smart move, then watching as the droid placed its arm at its side. "I am repair droid seven," it replied.

"What happened to the ship, then?" the Doctor asked, "There was a lot of damage."

"Ion storm. Eighty two percent systems failure."

"That ship hasn't moved in over a year. What's taking you so long?"

"We did not have the parts."

"What's happened to the crew? Where are they?"

"We did not have the parts."

Immediately all the switches went off in Rose's brain, and she realized what the droid was implying. The heart and the eye Mickey had seen… They did not have the parts…

"There should've been over fifty people on your ship. Where did they go?" the Doctor asked.

Rose cleared her throat, "Doctor, it already told you," she replied.

"We did not have the parts."

The time lord still wasn't getting it, "Fifty people don't just disappear. Where—oh." At last, he understood what the droid was implying. "You didn't have the parts," he said, "So you used the crew."

"The crew?" Mickey asked in confusion.

Rose leaned towards him, "You found a camera with an eye in it," she whispered, "And a heart wired into the machinery."

"It was just doing what it was programmed to—repairing the ship any way it can, with whatever it can find. No one told it the crew weren't on the menu. What did you say the flight deck smelt of?"

"The smell of someone cooking…" Rose said softly, suddenly feeling as if she were going to be sick that she'd thought the smell of human flesh pleasant. She may have been a psychopath, but she wasn't a cannibal.

"Flesh plus heat—barbeque, but what are you doing here?" He asked the droid, "You've opened up time windows. That takes colossal energy. Why come here? You could have gone to your repair yard."

"One more part is required," the droid replied, turning its head to face Reinette.

"Then why haven't you taken it?" the Doctor asked, attempting to ignore Reinette's look of pure disgust.

"She is incomplete," the droid replied.

"What, so that's the plan, then? Just keep opening up more and more time windows?"

Rose scoffed, "Why her?" She asked, "You've got all of history to choose from. Why specifically her?" _Why specifically someone so particularly irritating?_ Rose thought.

"We are the same," the droid replied.

Reinette looked offended, "We are not the same," she said angrily, "We are in no sense the same!"

"We are the same," it reiterated.

"Get out of here!" Reinette ordered it, walking towards it as she spoke, "Get out of here this instant!"

"Reinette, no," the Doctor said, watching as the droid pressed something on its wrist, and teleported away again. He sighed, "It's back on the ship," he muttered, "Rose, take Mickey and Arthur. Follow it, don't approach it, just watch what it does."

"You named the bloody horse Arthur?" Rose asked in disbelief as the Doctor opened the mirror door.

"Good name for a horse," he replied simply.

She shook her head, "You're not keeping the horse," she groaned.

"I let you keep Mickey," he retaliated, "Now go, go, go!"

She gave him a nod, then she and Mickey immediately ran back into the ship, and off to find the clock-droid.


	9. TGitF: To Kill or not to Kill

Rose and Mickey silently made their ways through the halls of the ship, the fire extinguisher occasionally tapping against their thighs as they walked side by side. Unfortunately for the agitated blonde, the silence didn't last very long.

"So, that Doctor, eh?" Mickey asked, interrupting the silence she was very much enjoying.

"What do you mean?" She asked in response.

"Well, Madame de Pompadour, Sarah Jane Smith, Cleopatra…"

Rose rolled her eyes, remembering the Doctor briefly mentioning his affair with Cleopatra shortly after they'd picked up Mickey, "He mentioned her once," she muttered, "Okay, so he called her Cleo, and they probably shagged—don't look at me like that Mickey, we both know they did. I've thought for a while now that the Doctor may just be the biggest manwhore- no, the biggest _whore_ in the entire universe."

The man beside her laughed, "Alright I'll give you that one," he said, then he turned around, and right in front of him was another one of the droids.

"Shit!" Rose cried as it grabbed him by the neck. She desperately looked around the room for something she could use as a weapon, but before she could find anything, another droid wrapped its arm around her neck, and every curse word in her vocabulary left her mouth before she lost consciousness. And everything was black.

In her unconscious state, she began to dream, her dreams ranging from your acerage out of the ordinary scene, to nightmares. They all seemed to blur together, but one stuck out in particular, one that seemed all too real.

_"Do you know what the best part is?" A voice, her voice, echoed in her mind, "You never figured it out."_

_"Stop," A weaker voice coughed out, an image of a figure surrounded by a pool of blood flashing through her mind._

_"How did you not figure it out?"_

She heard maniacal laughter, then the sound of someone screaming, then her eyes opened, and she saw the droid standing above her. The sight of it woke her up fully, and she looked around the room, "What's going on?" she mumbled.

"Rose?" Mickey called out softly. She turned her head towards him, spotting him strapped to a table just past the droid.

"Mickey?"

"They're gonna chop us up. Just like the crew—they're gonna chop us up and stick us all over their stupid spaceship!"

She rolled her eyes, "Mickey, shut up," she muttered, glancing down at where the droids had strapped her wrists to the table, "I'll get us out of here, I promise."

Suddenly she heard the droid approach her, "You are compatible," it muttered, glaring down at her.

Rose scoffed, "Oh shut up, you stupid Robot," she replied, struggling against the tight restraints, "There's no way in hell you're using my brain to power your ship! It's not even…" she was about to say "not even hers," but she mercifully stopped herself before she unintentionally revealed her identity to Mickey.

"You are compatible," the droid repeated.

"Stop saying that!" Rose exclaimed, "I'll stop you! And if I don't, I know someone who will! He would never let you lay a hand on his Rose!"

Mickey gave her an odd look, and she winked at him, then she dropped her bad ass act as soon as the droid stuck its blade out in front of her, "Shit," she muttered.

Before the droid could do anything to her, however, the sound of someone drunkenly singing filled the halls of the ship, and Rose banged her head against the table. "You're kidding me," she growled. There was no way in hell he was drunk. He never got drunk—except for one time with Jack according to Rose—never, but now he was. He was stumbling drunkenly towards them, his tie tied around his head, and belting _I Could've Danced All Night_ at the top of his lungs.

"I could have daaanced all night," the Doctor sang, "And still have begged foor moore…"

"Seriously?" Rose asked, glaring at him as he approached her, Mickey, and the droids.

"I could have spread my wings, and done a thou—have you met the French?" He asked suddenly, stopping his live rendition, "My _god_ , they know how to party."

If looks could kill, the Doctor would've been a puddle on the floor with the way Rose was glaring at him, "Look what the cat dragged in," she scoffed, "The oncoming storm."

"You sound just like your mother," the time lord slurred in response.

"What have you been doing?" Rose shouted at him, "Where the hell have you been?"

He shrugged, "Well, among other things, I think I just invented the banana daiquiri a few centuries early."

"Well that's _fucking_ fantastic!" She exclaimed, "You know what I've been doing? I've been strapped to this bloody thing while you've been off getting drunk! On banana daiquiris of all things!"

"Sorry," he mumbled, then he stood, seeming a little more sober this time, then he looked at the droids, one of which still had its blade to Rose's throat, "Oh, ho, ho, brilliant!"

"What could possibly be brilliant in a moment like this?" Mickey asked no one in particular.

"It's you!" the Doctor shouted at the droids, "You're my favorite, you are. You are the best! Do you know why? Cause you're so _thick!_ You're Mister Thick Thick Thickety Thickface from Thicktown… _Thickania!_ And so's your dad."

Rose watched in disdain as he walked around the various parts of the room, "Do you know what they were scanning Reinette's brain for?" He asked, chuckling, "Her milometer. They want to know how old she is. Know why?"

"I'd be willing to find out if you let me out of this thing," Rose replied.

"Cause this ship is thirty seven years old," the Doctor continued, ignoring her, "And they think when Reinette is thirty seven, then her brain will be compatible. Cause that's what you're missing innit?"

Rose didn't bother listening to the rest of his technical babble, she was too angry to hear it. Her vision was lined with red. Why wasn't he letting them loose? Why wasn't he freeing his precious Rose? The one he was very clearly in love with? Whom he'd thought he'd almost kissed in Reinette's room just hours earlier? How was it that he was already drunkenly flirting with another woman and partying with the French?

"The brain is compatible," the droid said.

 _Yeah, and my fist is compatible with your face,_ Rose thought, _your glass, breakable face._

"If you believe that, you probably believe that this is a glass of wine," the Doctor retorted, taking the mask off of the droid that was hovering over Rose, and pouring the liquid in his cup on its head. The machine let out a robotic shriek, then it stopped moving, and slumped over, leaving Rose alone.

"Multigrade anti-oil," the Doctor explained, "If it moves, it doesn't."

Suddenly, the other two droids in the room began moving towards him, and Mickey let out an alarmed whimper. The time lord simply reached over, and pressed a nearby lever, and the other droids in the room slumped over just like the first had.

As soon as they were out, the Doctor glanced at his companions, and moved to free them, "Right, you two, that's enough lying about. Time we got the rest of the ship turned off."

Rose breathed a sigh of relief as she slid off the table, and stood slowly, crossing her arms in front of her chest as she bitterly stared at him.

"Are those things safe?" Mickey asked as soon as he was free.

"Yep," the Doctor confirmed, "Safe and thick. Just the way I like them. Okay, all the time windows are controlled from here. I need to close them all down." He gestured to the panel in front of them that was covered in monitors and flashing buttons. Rose stared at it, trying to avoid looking at the time lord out of fear that she may kill him at the wrong time.

Mickey cleared his throat, "Why didn't they just open a time window to when she was thirty seven?" he asked.

"Amount of damage to these circuits? They'd be lucky to hit the right century."

The Doctor pressed a few more buttons and pulled a few more levers, but nothing happened. "The windows aren't closing," Rose observed, looking around them, "Why won't they close?"

A morse-code like noise rattled through their ears, "What's that?" Mickey asked.

"Incoming message," the Doctor replied, and for the first time since he'd returned to them, Rose made eye contact with him.

"What? From the field?" Rose asked sarcastically.

"Precisely, one of them must still be out there, with Reinette. That's why I can't close the windows."

He reached over to push another button, but he was stopped when one of the fallen droids suddenly stood upright behind him. Rose let out an audible gasp, and stepped back as the droid poured the anti-oil on the Doctor's shoe. "That was a bit clever," she heard him mutter.

Shortly after that, all the other droids began to rise, their nonexistent eyes staring at them.

"Well, you're the expert," Rose whispered to the Doctor, "What do we do now?"

He shushed her, "I'll figure it out, I always do," he murmured, "Many things about this are not good."

"Well of course not!" Rose said in a hushed tone, then she heard the sound of a high pitched noise, "Oh, great."

"Message from one of your little friends?" the Doctor asked, "Anything interesting?"

"She is complete," the droid replied, "It begins." As soon as it finished speaking, the droids all pressed the teleport buttons on their wrists, and teleported away.

"Damn it," Rose muttered at the same time as Mickey asked, "What's happening?"

"One of them must've found the right time window," the Doctor replied, "Now it's time to send in the troops. This time they're bringing back her head."

And with that, they quickly devised a plan. Rose would go through one of the time windows and warn Reinette that they were coming, prepare her for the dark day when the droids would bring hell to Versailles. All the while the Doctor and Mickey would be working on finding the time window in which Reinette was thirty seven, and the attack was being carried out.

It took them a matter of hours, during which Rose had a conversation with Reinette—most of which was spent with her sitting on her hands so she wouldn't kill her before her time—and warned her successfully. The other blonde was now fully aware of what was to come, and what the Doctor's world was truly like. As soon as their conversation was finished, Rose hurried back to where the Doctor and Mickey had announced they'd found their time window. "Have you found it then?" She asked, watching through the window as the droids attacked the French party, their screams now audible through the link.

"They knew I was coming," the Doctor growled, "They've blocked it off."

Rose cocked her head at the time window in confusion, "Did they teleport in there then?" She asked, shaking her head when he gave her a nod.

"You saw them," he muttered, "As long as the ship and the ballroom are linked, their short-range teleports will do the trick."

"What about the TARDIS?"

"We can't use the TARDIS, we're part of events now."

"We can't smash through either?"

"Hyperplex this side, plate glass the other. We'd need a truck, we don't have a truck!"

"We've got to try something!" Mickey exclaimed, inserting himself into the conversation.

"Smash the window and there's no way back," the Doctor said quietly, calming down from the anger that had been building up inside of him.

Reinette's voice interrupted their conversation, "Could everyone just calm down?" They heard her ask, "Please, such a commotion, such distressing noise. Kindly remember that this is Versailles, this is the royal court, and we are French!"

Rose couldn't help the smile that appeared on her face, though she despised Reinette, she admired the other woman's fire, and fearlessness. Perhaps she could cross her name off of her mental kill list.

Her thoughts were interrupted by the sound of the Doctor's horse, Arthur, clopping into the room, and neighing at them. She watched as he laughed in delight, "Oh that's just brilliant! Maybe I don't need a truck!" He cried.

"But if you go through, you won't be able to come back!" Rose cried, "Mickey and I will be stuck here." She may have hated him, but she knew it would be unwise to let him out of her reach before she succeeded her mission, or before he got her away from the damned spaceship.

The time lord sighed, then looked longingly at Rose, "Believe me, I'm sorry, Rose," he said quietly, "But if I don't do this, and they kill her tonight, the impact it'll have on history…How much will change…" He looked away, then he looked at the horse, and sighed.

"Doctor," she whispered, walking over to him, and resting a hand on his arm, "We can figure out another way. We can…"

He shook his head, "There isn't another way," he replied, "I promise, somehow I'll find my way back to you—both of you."

Rose ran a hand through her hair, trying to think of the best way to guilt trip him into staying. She would do anything to get off of the spaceship, and get on with her life. She tapped through her memories, Rose's memories, until she found one that would be perfect to use against him. "I thought you said you weren't gonna do that to me," she said softly, "Leave me behind."

That struck a chord. He turned around, and faced her, a new fire in his eyes, "I won't do that," he choked out, "Not to you, I promised you that then, and I'm promising it now. Just wait here, with the TARDIS until I come back."

"Until you come back? How do you know you'll come back?"

"I always do," the Doctor replied, climbing onto the horse with much effort, "Alright, then, time to go save France." He gave the horse a kick in the sides, then he was off, galloping towards the time window, and crashing through it within the next few seconds as Rose and Mickey watched worriedly.

When the glass shattered to the floor, Rose looked at Mickey in horror, "He'll come back," She said, reassuring herself more than anything, then she added under her breath, "Especially for you, Rose." She giggled when she felt the other girl squirming in her mind.

She and Mickey then spent the next few hours waiting impatiently, occasionally holding brief conversations or playing childish games to pass the time, but mostly waiting. Neither of them even went into the TARDIS, who was growling at Rose in her head, probably cursing her in a language all her own. "Fuck off," she whispered to the ship at one point, causing her to gain Mickey's attention.

"What?" He'd asked, thinking she'd said something to him.

She shook her head, "Nothing, just wish he'd get back here already," she said truthfully, "How long's it been anyways?"

Mickey shrugged, "Four hours, easily, maybe five…"

They waited in silence for a few more minutes after that, not so much as one word passed between them. Rose didn't even look at Mickey, and she was certain that he wasn't looking at her. The silence was nearly deafening, and Rose hated it. She found herself silently wishing that the Doctor would just get back to them already, though she knew it was unlikely. He could be gone for days, weeks, months, or maybe forever. She didn't want to think about that.

Luckily, she didn't have to, because five and a half hours into their wait for the Doctor, she heard the sound of his chucks pounding against the floors of the ship, and his obnoxious London accent calling out her name. "Rose! Mickey!" she heard him shout.

"No way," Mickey breathed.

"Thank god!" She exclaimed at the same time, running out into the hall to meet him. He swept her into his arms, and gently pressed a kiss to the side of her head in his excitement.

"How long did you wait?" He asked.

"Five and a half hours," she breathed, "It was boring."

He laughed in response, "Great, always wait five and a half hours," he joked.

"Where've you been though?" Rose asked, "What happened?"

The Doctor didn't answer her question, he simply opened the TARDIS doors, and motioned for them to get inside, "Into the TARDIS, I'll be with you in a sec," he said, ignoring Rose's question, but she wasn't about to let him get away so easily.

"Doctor, where did you go?" She asked.

He finally turned his attention on her, "I promise, I'll tell you later," he answered her, "Just give me a moment. Just another moment." Then he was off running down the halls, and Rose was left on her own with Mickey.

"Look on the bright side," he said, "At least this time it's only a couple of minutes."

She shrugged, "Come on, let's just wait for him in there, this ship reeks of… Well, you know," she replied, walking into the TARDIS, Mickey following closely behind her. They walked into the ship together, and sat down on the captain's seat, their eyes on the doors as they waited for the Doctor to return.

"You think he's bringing her with us?" Mickey asked.

Rose nodded, "Yeah, as if this box isn't full of enough people," she replied, "Now we'll have her and her poofy skirts."

"I'm sure she could change her clothes, she probably won't miss corsets too much."

Rose stuck her tongue out, remembering the uncomfortable feeling of a corset on her body—Rose's body—in one of her first travels with the Doctor. She was pretty certain it was the reason why she never really dressed for whatever period they were traveling to again. "I can understand that," she muttered, "And hey, maybe she'll take your place as the tin dog." She gently punched Mickey's arm.

"Oi!" he exclaimed, "You think you're so clever don't you?"

She laughed teasingly, "Traveling with him's bound to make someone a little smarter, yeah?"

"Suppose so."

Rose giggled in response, "I'm glad you joined us, Mickey," she said suddenly, not sure where it came from. Probably the real Rose.

"I'm glad—"

It was then that the TARDIS doors opened, and the Doctor came stalking back into the ship, his hands in his pockets, his head solemnly tilted at the ground. His mood had obviously shifted from the happy-go-lucky one he'd had when he'd reunited with them a few minutes earlier. Something had happened to him, something very not good. Rose suspected she knew what it was, but she said nothing about it.

"Why her?" She asked instead, avoiding the topic of Reinette's demise, "Why did they think they could repair the ship with the head of Madame de Pompadour?"

Sadness radiated through his voice when he answered her question, "We'll probably never know. There was massive damage in the computer memory banks. Probably got confused. The TARDIS can close down the time windows now the droids have gone, should stop it causing anymore trouble…"

"Are you alright?" Rose asked involuntarily, not having wanted to say that up until the moment it was leaving her mouth. What the hell was wrong with her? Why was she suddenly saying things she didn't want to say? That she didn't mean? She wasn't glad that Mickey had joined them and she didn't care if the Doctor was alright. Where were these words coming from.

Rose, she realized, they were coming from Rose, all the way on Demon's Run, centuries and light years from where she was. Those thoughts were hers. Somehow her thoughts on the events and the adventures in the ganger's hopefully short life with the Doctor were coming through her mouth. Perhaps it had something to do with why Madame Kovarian had told her not to kill the Doctor just yet. She'd realized that the connection between the ganger and the human was faulty, that they'd be at risk if she made a move.

What if she'd tried to kill the Doctor and then Rose had taken over mid stab? Or while she was in the middle of pulling the trigger? Or whatever weapon she'd be using to kill him? Rose could warn him, the mission would fail, and all of her hard work would be lost.

His eyes met hers, "I'm always alright," he lied, then he set the TARDIS in motion, and at last, they left the god awful spaceship from hell.

Rose stared at him for a moment, sensing his lie, but before she could say anything, she felt Mickey tap her arm, "Come on Rose," he said softly, "It's time you showed me around the rest of this place."

She gave him a nod, then the two of them were off into the depths of the TARDIS, and Rose began to give him the first and most sarcastic tour she'd ever given. Even though he'd already seen most of these places, he seemed to genuinely enjoy it. They walked through the ship, Rose pointing out the bedrooms, the kitchen, the various other rooms, and the library. "I can't believe it's got a pool in it," Mickey muttered when he saw it.

The blonde laughed, and led him into the shelves full of books, "Well, it does! And almost every book that's been published in here… According to him at least, says the library's also bigger on the inside."

Mickey laughed, "Well, that would make sense, ship bigger on the inside, library bigger on the inside, what else is bigger on the inside?"

"His pockets."

"Of course."

Rose grinned at him, "So, what do you want to do now?" She asked.

"I think I'll head back to my room, get some rest before we're off again…"

"That's probably best."

Mickey glanced at her one last time, "Night, Rose," he said before walking towards the library's exit.

"Night," she called back, then she walked slowly around the library until she came to the tables where she and the Doctor had been reading Harry Potter earlier. "What the hell?" She thought out loud, before she walked over to the tables, and sat down. She picked up the book, and continued reading it, seeing the story unfold for the first time with the ganger's eyes.


	10. You Give Love a Bad Name

Within a few hours, Rose was two thirds of the way into the book, and her eyes were getting tired, but what else did she have to do? The Doctor was moping in the console room, and Mickey was probably asleep by now. She was exceedingly bored, and she didn't want to sleep just yet, she had too much on her mind.

She sat back in her seat, and elected to wait for the Doctor to come back into the depths of the TARDIS so she could entertain herself for a while, chatting with him always bothered the real Rose, and it was an activity she found she could enjoy for that reason. So she waited, becoming progressively impatient while she waited for the Doctor to come to her. He'd been so upset when he'd come back from France, knowing that Madame du pompadour was gone. She almost felt bad for him.

Suddenly he walked into the library, a mixture of sorrow and hope in his eyes as he approached her. She set down The Goblet of Fire, and looked up at him expectantly, "Where the hell have you been?"

He shrugged, then grinned at her, "Oh, you know, oot and aboot," he teased, imitating her bad Scottish accent from when they'd gone to Scotland a few weeks earlier.

She picked up the book, and smacked him in the abdomen, "Damn you," she replied, though she had a smile on her face as she said this, "I thought we'd moved on from that."

"Nah, never."

"Ha, so, what are you doing here? You feel better?"

The time lord briefly looked her in the eyes, "Suppose so, yeah," he replied, his teasing tone slowly vanishing, "But, we need to talk." His eyes grew serious again, and he pulled a chair out from the table, and sighed, "Rose, today taught me something, something I hadn't quite understood before," he said quietly, his eyes avoiding hers.

She raised an eyebrow, and laid a hand on his knee, "What is it?" She asked, and when he hesitated, she pressed on gently, "Please, tell me."

The time lord gulped nervously, his eyes darting around the room, and landing on the book she'd set down, "You're still reading that?" He asked.

She ignored him, "Doctor, what's going on?"

He laid a hand on top of hers, "I lost Reinette today," he said softly, "And it reminded me... How short—how precious human life is."

Rose cocked her head to the side, not understanding why he was so nervous about giving yet another one of his "humans are precious and amazing," speeches. "So, what are you trying to say?"

His eyes finally met hers, a thousand emotions flashing through them, "I'm trying to say, that I've spent a fair amount of time with humans in my life, and they're time with me is usually fleeting, we don't always get to do everything we'd hoped to do together," he explained, "I tend to ignore that, because I'm afraid of..."

"Of what, Doctor?"

"Feelings, emotions... Their loss always makes me feel like I've wasted my time with them, and..."

Rose's heart was racing—was he seriously about to say what she thought he was going to say? If so, she was going to enjoy this.

"And I don't want to do that with you," he confessed, smiling slightly at her, "Your time with me is shorter than you could ever imagine, but... It doesn't have to be wasted..."

"Are you saying that...?"

He nodded, "Something has changed between us, since we met," he breathed shakily, "We've... Become closer, our relationship has... Expanded beyond friendship, beyond anything we ever imagined it to be. What I'm saying is..."

"You have feelings for me."

"... Yes..."

"And you think I have feelings for you?"

"Yes."

"Well, good. Cause I do," Rose said, giving her well-rehearsed tongue in cheek grin, "But we can't just pretend that we don't have a time limit together..."

He shook his head, "No, we can't," he replied, "But maybe for a little while… We can just…"

She put a finger to his lips, "You talk too much sometimes, I swear."

The time lord let out a small chuckle, "Bad time lord habbit."

"You're forgiven."

The Doctor exhaled in relief, and moved his chair closer to her, and leaned ever so slightly closer to his companion, then opened his mouth, but no words came out. For the first time in a long time, the time lord was speechless, and Rose was loving it. She was loving how much he was falling for her act, too in love with his companion to see the fake— though she was doing a good job at impersonating Rose when she was around him. He let out a laugh, "I can't think of what to say," he confessed.

She laughed with him, "Neither can I," she said, "Now that everything's out there and in the open..." She moved even closer to him, their faces practically touching. He said, and did nothing as she placed a hand on his cheek, and brought her lips to his.

At first he seemed stunned, in a state of disbelief, but then he responded to the kiss, and suddenly the ganger was caught in what was undoubtedly the best kiss of her and the actual Rose's life. Rose suddenly gasped as the Doctor placed a hand around her waist and pulled her body closer to his. She responded by letting go of his knee, and running her hand through his hair.

She could feel the actual Rose practically crying out for her to stop, but at the same time, she could feel the girl's sheer delight that the Doctor had confessed his feelings. The Real Rose's flurry of emotions gave the Rose that was currently snogging the Doctor an impetus to continue, and so she passionately continued to kiss her enemy.

However, she realized that that idea could have a problem. Since they'd gained Mickey, their new companion tended to wander in on them during the most random times. If he were to walk into the library right at that moment for some reason, her torturous plan would fail. What was a killer to do?

Suddenly, she was struck with an idea, an absolutely mad, and possibly brilliant idea. She broke the kiss, and nearly snickered at the puppy dog-eyed expression he gave her as she pulled away, "I'm sorry," she muttered, "But I don't want Mickey walking in on us..." She motioned to the still open doors of the library.

He sighed, "You're right," he replied softly, backing away from her. The Doctor appeared deep in thought for a moment, then a light bulb appeared to turn on in his head, "Come with me," he said suddenly, holding his hand out to Rose.

She took it, looking up at him mischievously as he led her out of the library. They walked down the hall, passing various rooms including her bedroom, then Mickey's bedroom—they snickered to themselves as they passed—and then they stopped at a TARDIS blue door that Rose had seen, but never walked into before. The real Rose on the other hand, had been in there a couple times, she recognized it, but the ganger couldn't quite access the memory of what it was. Their connection was getting foggy again

"Is this the kitchen or...?" Rose asked.

"My bedroom," the Doctor replied casually, placing his hand on the door knob and pushing it open. The couple then walked into the room, which was dimly lit by an orange looking sky light with what appeared to be two Suns setting on opposite sides.

Rose looked up at it, a little awestruck, "Is that...?"

He nodded, "Gallifrey," he said softly, looking mournfully up at the sky, "Little piece of home to look at every night."

She could feel his eyes on her, and she looked into them, seeing that intense sorrow she could never hope to understand mixed with a sense of hope and adventure. But why the sadness? _Oh right,_ she thought, _he lost his planet_. That didn't make him any less of a villain than Kovarian had told her he was. "I'm sorry," she breathed, knowing that's exactly what Rose would say—it was actually what she was thinking.

The time lord sighed, "When they... Died, the loss nearly broke me," he told her, "But then, I went to London, and who's the first pink and yellow mad woman I meet? Rose Tyler."

She laughed, and looked around the rest of the room, which was filled with odd looking decor from various planets, and a large bed with tardis blue sheets. "You really like the color of your ship, don't you?" She commented.

The Doctor nodded, "Oh yes," he said smiling suddenly.

Rose smiled back, "So, that moment in the library?" She asked.

"Yes?"

"I'd like to get back to it."

"Quite right," he said before taking her face in his hands, and kissing her again. She smiled in satisfaction against his lips, and moved her hands to the buttons of his suit-jacket, undoing them as they kissed. As soon as they were unbuttoned she slid her hands to his shoulders and took off his jacket entirely.

He let out a small giggle, and Rose immediately shushed him, giving him the most warm and loving smile she could muster as she led him to the bed, and pushed him onto it. The time lord then took his companion into his lap, and they slowly descended into the sheets.

Rose couldn't help the laugh that escaped her lips as their lips clumsily came together again in the dimly lit room, and as much as she absolutely despised the Doctor, she had to admit—he was a fantastic kisser. No wonder every woman they met fell for him.

Her hands slowly made their way up his chest, and craftily undid his tie, throwing it casually on the floor behind them. She deepened their already passionate kiss, then slowly undid the buttons of his shirt.

When she finished, his hands found hers, and he slowly sat the two of them up, Rose's legs on either side of his hips, and shifted them over towards the head of the bed. This time, he wound up on top of her. "Mmm," Rose moaned against his lips, "Taking charge now, I see."

"I was actually offered the position of lord president of the time lords once," he replied, pressing his lips against her neck.

She rolled her eyes, but let out a Rose-like laugh, "You're not serious, are you?"

"Oh no, I am."

"Alright, then I'm being serious when I say that I think we're both severely over dressed."

Suddenly, he seemed to hesitate, and he pulled away from her slightly. Rose looked up at him in confusion, "What's wrong?" She asked.

He shook his head, "I can't do this right now," he replied quietly.

Rose raised her eyebrows, "Why not?"

"It's just... Not the right time... I..."

"It's fine," she replied as he rolled off of her, "I understand." And she did, she was able to recognize that he was in emotional pain, still recovering from what had happened with Reinette, and despite being a killer, she had morals. She wasn't going to force him to do anything he didn't want to do. The real Rose wouldn't do that either.

They lay there in silence for a moment, then she felt the Doctor's head shift beside her. "Rose," he said gently, taking her hand in his.

She turned on her side, "What?" She asked in response.

"Would you... Stay here... With me, tonight?"

Rose didn't say anything for a few seconds, then she squeezed his hand, "Of course," she replied, "But if you think I'm sleeping in these trousers, you're mad."

He laughed, then he reached over to the other side of the bed, and opened a drawer. The Doctor shifted some things around for a moment, and mumbled to himself, but after a moment he turned back towards her, and handed her a pair of soft, cotton sweatpants. She graciously accepted them, then turned away from him, flung her legs over the bed, changed, and then flopped back onto the bed.

"Thanks," she whispered, surprised by how comfortable the fabric of her borrowed trousers was.

"Welcome," he whispered back.

"So..."

"So...?"

"Are we going to be sleeping, or...?"

The time lord brushed a piece of her hair off of her face, and sighed, "Yeah, guess so," he replied, "It's been a long day."

Rose nodded, "Night then, Doctor," she said, turning away from him.

He shifted closer to her, and gently pressed his lips to the back of her neck, "Night, Rose," he whispered, then he placed his hand on her waist, and the two of them slowly drifted into sleep.

That night, Rose was plagued by nightmares. They had no subject, and they had no focus, they were images, flashes, and bits of sound. There was nothing resembling a normal nightmare in them, only that they were terrifying.

_"Rose!" his voice echoed through her head multiple times, panic flashing through his eyes._

_"… The false girl…" a new voice echoed._

_"The bad wolf… she rises."_

_Mickey was running, with her, she was behind them. "… a prisoner…"_

_The sound of the blade cutting through the flesh…_

_"Nothing can stop me…"_

She woke up gasping for air, and she looked left and right to find the Doctor starring down at her worriedly.

"Are you alright, Rose?"

She nodded slowly, "Fine," she replied, "It was just a nightmare."

He shifted, and placed a hand on her forehead, "You're a little sweaty, and your heart's beating incredibly fast," he observed, "What sort of nightmares are you having?"

Rose shook her head, "Just your average, scary nightmare," she replied casually. The Doctor looked as though he were about to say something, but instead he wrapped an arm around her shoulders, and let her rest her head on his chest. Through it, she could hear both his hearts beating. **Boom-boom-boom-boom**. Incessant drumming. She wanted it to stop more than anything. And one day, as soon as Kovarian gave her the all clear, it would.

She smiled at the thought, something he mistook for affection, and he chuckled lightly, "That better?" He asked.

"No," she wanted to say, but instead she gave him a nod, "Yes," she answered quietly, closing her eyes and allowing herself to drift peacefully into sleep.

The Doctor made a wonderful pillow, and until the moment he shook her gently awake she slept soundly, without nightmares. As she woke, she let out a yawn, and her lashes fluttered as she opened her eyes, and stared up at the time lord. "Hello," she said sleepily.

"Hello," he replied, then he looked away awkwardly, "So..."

"So..."

"I think we should get dressed, wake Mickey, and see where the TARDIS takes us, hmm?"

She nodded, "Sure, good idea," she replied swinging her legs over the side of the bed, "See you in ten?"

He sat up, then she felt his lips brush her cheek before he too swung his legs over the side of the bed, and stood up. She took that as her cue to leave, and she strode casually over to the bedroom door. Time to wake Mickey, she thought, opening the tardis blue door.

"Rose?" A voice asked confused.

The blonde looked up to find Mickey staring down at her, his eyes drifting between her and the time lord who was buttoning up his shirt behind her. The Doctor froze, realizing what this must look like to his new companion. Him putting his clothes on, Rose's ruffled appearance… Mickey was likely putting two and two together in his head.

Rose on the other hand was hiding her smirk behind her left hand, trying not to laugh at the awkward situation—which was making the Demon's Run Rose cringe with second hand embarrassment.

"Um... What?" Mickey asked slowly.

"Mickey!" The Doctor exclaimed after a moment, coming out of his shocked state, "What are you doing here?"

The other man shrugged, "I thought this was the kitchen," he confessed.

The time lord gave him a curt nod, "Understandable, the doors look similar," he replied, continuing to button up his shirt, "I'll have to change that."

Rose giggled quietly, and stared up at Mickey, "Something bothering you?" She asked.

His eyes simply darted between her and the Doctor, "Well..."

"Oh!" The Doctor exclaimed, "Oh! No! This is not what it looks like! No! No! We were cuddling that's all! Um, Rose! Rose had nightmares that's all!"

The blonde nodded in agreement, "We go to each other... When we have nightmares," she lied awkwardly, glancing at the Doctor and raising her eyebrows.

He nodded, "Yes, that's exactly it," he replied, "Nothing dodgy at all."

Mickey scoffed, "Right, anyway, I'm heading down to the library to try to forget that I ever saw anything this morning…"

The Doctor and Rose both gave him an awkward smile, then Rose slowly turned back around to look at the time lord. With an eyebrow raised, she asked, "So, what's next?"

He looked up at the ceiling, "Well, probably the same as usual," he replied, "But first…"

"First…?"

"Weren't you going to get dressed?"

Rose had almost completely forgotten that she was still in the Doctor's trousers and the slightly foul smelling shirt she'd been wearing the previous day. "Right," she muttered, then she gave him a brief wave before she dashed out the door, a wicked smile growing on her face as she walked down the hallway to her room.


	11. Rise of the Cybermen: A Lost Rose

Ten minutes later Rose was dressed in an outfit she deemed very Rose-esque. The abominable ensemble was composed of Rose's usual pink, and a yellow top, as well as her usual thick as all hell eyeliner.

As soon as she was satisfied with her appearance she walked out into the halls of the tardis, and found herself walking alongside Mickey, who was avoiding her gaze. She lightly nudged him, "Mornin'," she said somewhat awkwardly.

"Hey," he replied, eyes still avoiding hers.

"You alright?" She asked.

He nodded, "Yeah, but," he suddenly stopped walking, and gestured to the space they'd just been walking in, "What the hell was that? I mean, I can't say I'm surprised, but..."

She let out a laugh, and leaned against the wall, "Ah, Mickey," she breathed, remembering the previous evening with a mixture of pleasure and disgust. Quite an odd mixture. "Turns out, Madame du Pompadour's death was the best thing that ever happened to me," she confessed, then she mentally cringed. What an un-Rose-like thing to say!

Mickey raised an eyebrow, "What?"

Rose flushed, and quickly searched her mind for a good way to recover from her fuck up. "Uh... I just mean, it caused him to open up, and we uh... Talked, ya know, about how short human life is, and he doesn't want to waste his time with me, and then he took me into his room and—"

"Okay, I think I can figure out what happened from there."

"No! No! No! That's not what happened. We just held each other. That's it. It helps with the nightmares we both get."

Mickey nodded, finally seeming to understand, "So, nothing happened?" He asked, "You just...?"

She grinned at him, "Nothing at all," she gently nudged his arm, "C'mon, I think we've got a new adventure ahead of us."

The two of them walked into the console room, where the Doctor was already running about pressing buttons and pulling levers, and whatever he had to do to fly the tardis. He barely even noticed his companions as they walked in.

Rose cleared her throat to get his attention, then she took her place beside him, "Hello," she greeted him, "Where're we going today?"

He shrugged, "Dunno, thought we'd maybe try Barcelona," he announced, "Got a bit distracted last time, didn't we?"

The ganger urgently tapped Rose's memories for the answer to what Barcelona was, but she was coming up blank. The connection was once again fuzzy, and a worried expression made itself known on the blonde's face. If she couldn't access Rose's memories, her facade would come to an end very quickly. Her mission would end, and Kovarian would likely terminate her life. Or maybe the Doctor would first. She doubted it.

The Doctor looked at her expectantly, but all she could muster was a blank expression. "What?" She asked.

"Oh, come on," he groaned, "You can't tell me you've forgotten Barcelona? Sure, we only talked about it for thirty seconds before I regenerated but..."

Mickey raised his hand, "Well, could you maybe tell me about Barcelona? I'm still pretty new to this whole thing, you know," he said suddenly, making Rose very grateful for the distraction he was providing.

Rose and the Doctor looked at each other, shrugged, and began to talk at the same time.

"You see, right before he changed his face—"

"Before I became this—"

They paused, then the Doctor gestured for Rose to continue, and the ganger gladly obliged. "Before he changed he said something about wanting to take me to Barcelona," she explained, "But not the city Barcelona."

"The planet Barcelona," The Doctor interjected, "People with dogs for heads, fascinating planet."

Rose nodded, then racked her brain trying to remember what part of this story came next, but she was coming up blank. Her connection to the other Rose was particularly fuzzy today, and she wasn't sure why. Mercifully, Mickey came to her rescue.

"Ah, well, sounds nice, but I don't think dog people are my thing," he replied, putting his hands up.

The other two laughed, though Rose found herself agreeing with him entirely. Dog headed people weren't her thing either. That was something belonging to the other Rose's list of things she'd find fascinating.

The Doctor hummed in response, then he seemed to beam with an idea, "Mickey, see that button right there? The black one?" he asked.

Mickey gave him a quick nod, and the Doctor continued speaking, "I need you to hold that down until I tell you to stop." Then he rushed about the consol, pulling leavers here and pushing buttons there, and then sitting down on one of the room's benches.

"What'd you just do?" Rose questioned him, wondering where he'd set them to go next as Mickey placed his finger on the button.

"Just set the TARDIS in flight," was his response, "We're moving about through the time vortex."

"And what am I doing, exactly?" Mickey inquired.

"Trust me, it's important."

"Okay."

The Doctor then motioned for Rose to come join him on the bench, to which she obliged, and gestured for Mickey to sit down before looking at the two of them. "So… planet full of dog headed people aside… Any other ideas?"

Rose picked around between the other Rose's and her memories for a few moments before she began to tell a story about this fire breathing woman she and the Doctor had encountered on some planet she couldn't find the name of.

Mickey almost immediately began to stare off into space. He tried to keep up, he really did, but he'd grown tired long ago of hearing stories of all of the things the Doctor and Rose did. Tired of hearing about the dynamic duo saving the universe all the time, and leaving him behind. Leaving him to be the tin dog. Even though he was now their companion, he was without a doubt the tin dog.

"…Then she opens her mouth and fire comes out!" he heard the Doctor exclaim some time later.

"I thought I was gonna get frazzled!" Rose replied in the same excited voice, trying her best to feign some sort of happiness over their adventures as she found her hand clenching the knife in her pocket again.

The time lord let out a laugh, "Yeah! One minute she's standing there, the next minute, roar!"

Mickey let out a half assed laugh, "Uh, where was that, then? What happened?"

The two people in front of him came down from their laughter high, and then thought for a moment, "Oh, it was on this… planet thing…" the Doctor recalled, "Asteroid. It's a long story, you had to be there…" Then he looked at Mickey's hand, which was still on the button. "What are you doing that for?"

"Cause you told me to," Mickey replied simply.

"When was that?"

"About half an hour ago."

"Um… You can let go now," The Doctor chuckled out, giving him a quick smile as the ganger beside him giggled away.

"Well, how long's it been since I could've stopped?" Mickey asked, a hint of anger slipping into his voice.

The Doctor looked up for a moment, "Ten minutes? Twenty…. Twenty nine…"

"You just forgot me!"

"No, no, no, I was just… I was calibrating. I know exactly what I'm doing."

At that moment, there was a small explosion from the TARDIS consol, throwing everyone off balance. Rose found herself crashing to the ground, and quickly developing a massive headache, as if she were being split in two. Had she hit her head?

There wasn't time for her to think about it, as everyone quickly sat up, and held on tightly to the centerpiece of the room. "What's happened?" She asked urgently, "What the hell's going on?"

"The time vortex, it's gone!" He exclaimed, "That's impossible! It's just gone!"

Rose looked at him in disbelief. She'd been in all kinds of crazy situations with him already, and they'd been in all sorts of danger. Hearing that the TARDIS had left the time vortex? And that they were just in the middle of nowhere? That frightened her a little bit. What frightened her even more was that her headache was even worse, and she couldn't feel even the slightest trace of the other Rose Tyler in her head. She was gone, and the ganger was worried.

"Brace yourselves! We're gonna crash!" The Doctor's voice shouted, interrupting the blonde's thoughts.

She braced herself, and within seconds the TARDIS seemed to land with a very loud bang, and oxygen masks fell from the ceiling as if they were on a plane. The silence immediately following the crash was deafening, even though it lasted barely a second. Rose was incredibly dazed, and terrified. How was she going to keep up her Rose façade without the other Rose's memories?

"Everyone alright?" The Doctor asked suddenly, "Rose? Mickey?"

His companions immediately assured him they were alright, then watched as he stood up, and looked at the TARDIS, gazing at the instruments around him. Rose stood up and took his hand, suddenly feeling as if something besides the fact that she'd just lost her connections was off.

"She's dead," The time lord standing beside her breathed, "The TARDIS is dead."

Rose's already fast beating heart beat even faster in that moment, "You can fix it, right?" She asked, "Surely you can?"

He shook his head, "There's nothing to fix," he all but whispered, "She's perished. The last TARDIS in the universe, extinct."

His companion swallowed the lump forming in her throat, "We can get help, yeah?" She asked, "We had to have landed somewhere, right? Hopefully somewhere with aspirin, because I've got a splitting headache."

Immediately he was standing right in front of her, taking her face in his hands, and examining her like a proper doctor. "What happened? Did you hit your head? There's no sign of trauma anywhere… Not on the outside at least."

She shook her head, "No, I didn't," she replied, "And honestly it can wait until we're safe again, Doctor. What's out there?"

"Nothing. We fell out of the vortex. Into the void. Into nothingness."

Rose laughed nervously, "Oh god," she breathed, then she looked up at him, "Least we're alive, right?"

He returned her a weak smile, and caressed her cheek, "Suppose so. Alive, but in the lost dimension."

"Otherwise known as London," Mickey interjected from the now half opened TARDIS doors, "London, England, Earth."

The three of them slowly walked out of the broken ship into broad daylight, and saw indeed that they had landed in London, England, Earth. Rose felt a sigh of relief building up within her. If she was simply in London, then whatever had gone wrong, Madame Kovarian could find her easily, and the mission could be salvaged. The relief was all too brief, for just a moment later, she noticed the zepplins flying high in the sky.

"Mickey, I don't think this Earth is ours," She said, pointing up at the sky. The other human and the time lord craned their necks, and gawked at the sight above them. Realization dawned on both of their faces as they realized this was certainly not the London they remembered.

The Doctor spoke first, "It's a parallel earth," he observed, "Another universe… We're in the wrong world."

Rose looked around, and her eyes landed on an enormous advertisement about six meters away from where they stood, "A parallel world where…" she paused, taking a moment to recognize the figure in the ad. She didn't need Rose to figure out that this was her father. The other girl thought about him all the time, and the brief time she'd had with him. He was constantly showing up in her dreams, too. All the lost potential of the things they could've done together constantly running through her head, annoying the doppelganger. "My dad's still alive," She finished.

Finally, she had something to do. Something to make her Rose performance believable in this universe. She almost let out a great, whooping cheer right then and there. The mission would still be a success. She could still kill the Doctor. She ran up to the ad, and reached out to touch it, only to recoil away when it suddenly moved and Pete Tyler's voice said, "You can trust me on this."

Rose turned to her companions as they caught up to her and gave them a shy grin, "That's weird," she noted, gesturing to the talking ad, "But he's real. He's a success! Maybe even rich for all we know. He's got to be to have an ad up in the city."

The Doctor's eyes trained intently on her, "Rose, don't even look at it, don't think about it," he instructed her, "That man is not your father. Your father's dead, I'm sorry. He died when you were six months old. That isn't your Pete, that is A Pete. For all we know he's got his own Jackie, his own Rose. His own daughter who is someone else, but not you. You can't see him, not ever."

The ganger could've kissed him for literally feeding her every bit of information she needed to see this lie through, then she sighed, and went in for a hug, wrapping her arms around the time lord. She could feel his hearts beating heavily against his chest. If only she could stop that, but she couldn't, not without orders from Madame Kovarian. She looked up at him, arms still around his waist, and sighed, "I suppose you're right," she conceded, "Perhaps we should head back to the TARDIS, see if there's anything we can do."

The Doctor mumbled bitterly about how he really didn't think there was anything they could do, but he nodded, and motioned for Rose and Mickey to follow him to the TARDIS.

As they walked back to the stalled ship, Rose slowly found herself letting go of the Doctor, and falling behind him and Mickey. She quietly slipped away, feeling her headache grow stronger and stronger by the moment.

The moment she was out of sight of the TARDIS she quickly ran down the street, looking for anywhere she could spend a moment alone to figure out what the hell was happening to her. She knew the most likely cure lay with the Doctor, but she couldn't tell him the full extent of what was going on without him finding out who she was, and what she was doing. She was trapped, and she would have to deal with this herself.

Eventually, she found a bench under the shade on a not terribly crowded street, and she sat down, clutching her head all the while. "Come on, Rose, focus," she breathed, trying to force the pain in her head to calm down. Was this really what happened when a ganger lost contact with the original body? Would the pain get even worse? She couldn't bear to think it. How would she maintain her cover if the pain was getting so bad that everyone was noticing that she couldn't function? If they checked what was really going on, she'd surely be detected.

After a moment of pained panicking, the moment passed, and the aching in Rose's head turned into a dull pain, allowing her to regain her focus. She took a few deep breaths, and pulled out her cell phone. If her phone worked anywhere in time and space, surely it worked in a parallel world.

Her hypothesis was proven correct the second she turned on the phone, for it connected to what appeared on her screen as the Cybus Network, and instantly she was allowed access to this world's internet. Satisfied with her findings, she figured she might as well head back to the TARDIS so that the Doctor and Mickey wouldn't have to spend too long wondering where she was, but then she decided they were probably already out looking, and she'd be better off staying where she was, finding out whatever she could about this world's Pete Tyler.

Meanwhile at the TARDIS, the Doctor and Mickey had just closed the doors to the ship when the time lord noticed she was missing. "Where's Rose?" he asked the man standing beside him, not bothering to check what his answer was before bolting back outside, and scanning their surroundings for any sight of the blonde.

After seeing that she was nowhere to be found, the Doctor sauntered back into his ship, and instantly turned to Mickey, "She goes wandering off as usual, but no, it's a parallel world, it's like a gingerbread house. All those temptations calling out."

Mickey scoffed at him as he walked around the console, "Oh, so it's just Rose, then? Nothing to tempt me?"

The time lord groaned, "Oh, well I don't know, I can't worry about everything," he replied, kicking the console in disappointment.

"Did that help?" Mickey asked.

"Yes."

"Did that hurt?"

"Yes."

The time lord sat down and rubbed his wounded foot, "Problem is, Mickey, we're not meant to be here," he confessed, "The TARDIS draws its power from the universe, but this is the wrong one. It's like putting diesel in a petrol engine."

Mickey looked down at him confusedly, "But I've seen it in comic books all the time! People popping into parallel universes like it's nothing."

The Doctor sighed, "Not in the real world," he replied, "used to be so easy. When the time lords kept their eye on everything, you could pop between realities, home in time for tea. Then they died and took it all with them."

His companion looked down dejectedly, "Ah, so there goes that, then."

"Yeah, suppose so…" the Doctor said, looking down at his chucks.

"What are you thinking about?"

"What?"

"You've had this look on your face ever since Rose said she had a headache. What's going on?"

The Doctor thought for a moment, then he sat up, "I don't know, but when I touched her head earlier, it felt like something was missing… Something was off. I don't know, maybe different realities affect humans differently than time lords."

"But I'm here too and I don't have a headache," Mickey retorted, "I'm perfectly fine."

"Could be that it affects some humans more than others."

"Could be, yeah."

The two of them sat in silence for a moment before the Doctor's wandering eyes settled on something just below the floorboards. Something that looked like… "That, there, is that a reflection?" he asked Mickey as he pointed at the mysterious green light, "Is that a light? I think it's a light! That's all we need! Mickey we've got power! Ha!"

They both let out victory cheers as the Doctor lifted the floorboard up, and stepped down below to get a closer look at the tiny little light. "It's alive," he breathed happily, "It's just one of those insignificant little power cells that no one really notices, but it's clinging to life. One little ounce of reality tucked inside."

"Enough to get us home?" Mickey asked hopefully.

"Not yet, I need to charge it up," the time lord replied, gently blowing air onto the light, causing it to glow just a little bit brighter. "I just gave away ten years of my life, worth every second."

He quickly stashed the tiny power cell in his pockets, then he jumped up out of the console, and closed the floor panel beneath him, "Now, Mickey, what do you say we go find Rose?"

A little while later they found their companion sitting on a shaded bench, surfing through her phone, not even noticing that they were approaching her until they were a few feet away. When her eyes met his, he smiled warmly, and sat down right beside her, taking her hand in his. The other hand pulled out a tiny little power cell.

"I fixed it, in twenty four hours, we can go back home," he told her, bringing her a sense of relief in knowing that she wouldn't be trapped there forever.

She smiled, then she showed him her phone, "My phone connected, Doctor," she told him, "there's this Cybus industries thing… It finds your phone. I got internet access."

The Doctor sighed, "Rose, whatever it says, this is the wrong world," he reminded her.

"I don't exist," she said solemnly, looking deeply into his eyes, "There's no Rose Tyler. I was never born. There's Pete, there's Jackie, and they're married, but they never had kids."

"Rose," he muttered softly, "Give me the phone."

"They're rich, Doctor, they've got a house with cars, but not me, they've got everything, but not me. I've got to see him."

"You can't, I can't let you."

"You did just say we have twenty four hours," she sing-songed, winking at Mickey, knowing he'd be tempted to go off and do something, too. She could have the Doctor all to herself, inflict more pain on him and Rose.

"Twenty four hours, yeah?" Mickey chimed in, beginning to walk away from the bench.

At the same time, Rose stood up, and began to walk in the other direction, heading towards the house of Pete Tyler, whose address she'd picked up during her search for information. "I've got the address and everything," she tempted the time lord.

"Where are you going?" the Doctor cried out to both of them, "Both of you come back!"

"I just want to see him," Rose whined.

"Yeah, I've got things to see, too," Mickey responded.

They both watched as the Doctor's head switched back and forth between the two of them, and settled on Rose briefly before turning back to Mickey, "Meet back here in twenty four hours!" He shouted to his other companion before running off to follow Rose.

The blonde grinned at him as he walked by her side, "Thank you, Doctor," she said, taking his arm and leaning her head on his shoulder.

He smiled down at her as they walked, "I never seem to be able to say no to you, Rose Tyler," he commented.

She laughed, "That's because you fancy me," she teased, "Always have, haven't you? Fancied me from the beginning."

The time lord blushed and looked away, "Maybe I did, maybe I didn't. Who knows! I was a different person back then, might've been mad. You were fancied by a mad man," he teased back.

They both chuckled as they walked, their hands slipping into a hand hold as they walked down the street towards the Tyler's place. Rose found herself not knowing what to say, since she didn't know much about the other Rose's beginnings with the Doctor. All she knew was the word, "run." She didn't know what significance that had, but it had to have been important.

"You know, we've got the perfect excuse to stop by and just observe him from afar," Rose confessed, "I found out he's having a party tonight, Jackie's fortieth birthday."

"Oh, that's weird hearing you call her Jackie," he observed.

The ganger internally cringed at her mistake. It seemed so rookie and ignorant. Of course Rose wouldn't do that. She quickly fumbled for an excuse, "Right… Just… Doesn't feel right to call someone who isn't really my mum, mum, you know? It's like you said."

"Ah, so now you listen to me," he said as they rounded the corner onto a busy street with hundreds of people walking about.

She threw her head back and laughed, "Never in a million years," she replied.

Suddenly there was a loud beeping noise, and everyone in the crowd around them stopped moving, shocking the time lord and his false companion. Even the policemen working near them had stopped.

"What're they all doing?" Rose asked, genuinely curious.

"They've stopped," the Doctor told her, then he looked closer at the frozen people, "It's the ear pieces. Like Bluetooth attachments, but everyone's connected together."

Rose felt a buzzing sound coming from her pockets, and she broke her hold on the Doctor to grab her phone before opening it to see what was going on. "It's on my phone. It's automatic, look. It's downloading. Is this what they're all getting? News, international news, sports, weather…"

They looked around them at the people with the flashing ear pods, "They get it directly into their heads," the Doctor observed, "everyone shares the same information, daily download from Cybus industries."

Suddenly the people around them began to laugh, and Rose observed the word "joke," on her phone screen.

"You lot, you're obsessed, you'll do anything for the latest upgrade," the Doctor scolded.

"Oi, not my lot, Doctor, different world, remember?"

"Not so far off," the time lord replied, taking a look at Rose's phone, and using the sonic screw driver to go through the information on Cybus Industries, "Well, look at that, they own just about every company in Britain including Vitex Industries… Pete's company."

Rose placed her head on his shoulder, and raised her eyebrows inquisitively at him, silently begging him. He caved in a matter of seconds, "Alright, you're right, we should see him."

"Yes!" she exclaimed, grabbing his face and kissing him in a false happiness. Lucky for her, he responded to the kiss, and he even caressed her cheek before breaking away, smiling at her, and then leading her off to Pete's house.

It was another couple of hours of stumbling throughout London before they wound up in the bushes outside of the Tyler's mansion. The journey should've taken half the time, really, but the pair of them kept getting distracted by each other every few minutes. By the time they got there, night had fallen.

They watched as a limo circled around the house, and dropped off two well dressed party guests for the fortieth birthday Rose had mentioned earlier that day.

"Looks like my parallel mother loves a party," Rose joked casually.

The Doctor laughed, "Your real mother enjoys a party."

The blonde feigned a laugh of her own, "We really should get inside somehow."

The time lord nodded, "I agree, especially given Pete Tyler's guest list, I'm eager to get inside," he replied, pulling the psychic paper out from his suit jacket and flapping it in front of them, "Now… who do you want to be?"


	12. Rise of the Cybermen: A Close Call

Half an hour later, the Doctor and Rose emerged from the Tyler’s kitchen dressed in server uniforms, with fake smiles on both of their faces as they strode out smoothly, each of them carrying a tray full of food or drink. The ganger had to be extra careful, since her tray carried wine glasses, at least a dozen of them. Her partner in crime, on the other hand had the simpler task of carrying in some sort of fancy dish whose name escaped her. For once, she was actually envious of him. 

She sighed as they weaved through party guests, and began serving, “We could’ve been anyone,” she muttered bitterly. 

The time lord grinned cheekily behind her, “Well, I got us in, didn’t I?”

Rose scoffed, “You’re in charge of the psychic paper,” she explained, handing a drink to a guest, “We could’ve been guests. Celebrities, even!”

It took all of her strength not to groan or toss him a murderous stare. She’d been so hopeful when they’d strode up to the Tyler mansion hand in hand, ready to dress up to the nines and try to actually have fun while she was on this parallel Earth. The disappointment she felt when the man the Doctor showed the psychic paper to told them, “Staff right this way,” and pointed them down a long hallway.

“If you want to know what’s going on, you work in the kitchens,” the Doctor replied, “According to Lucy—”

Rose stopped and turned to face him, “Whoa, who’s Lucy?” She asked, forcing a jealous look onto her face. 

He pointed to another serving girl on the other side of the room, “She’s carrying the salmon pinwheels.”

“How’d you talk to her?”

“I’m a fast dresser, talked to her while you were still putting your clothes on.”

“I see.”

The time lord pointed to another man standing near the aforementioned “Lucy,” and leaned down slightly, “Lucy says that is the President of Great Britain.”

Rose’s eyes followed his finger and landed on a tall, black man in the same suit as virtually everyone else in the room, “Isn’t it supposed to be prime minister?” She asked inquisitively. She remembered something about Britain having a prime minister, not a president.   
“Parallel world, everything’s the same, but just a bit different,” the Doctor responded. He was about to say more, when another voice, Pete Tyler’s, interrupted him. 

“Excuse me!” Pete called, waiting for the voices in the room to quiet down, “Thank you very much, if I could have your attention, please?”

A few voices in the crowd cheered him on, and welcomed his upcoming speech with passion before he continued. “Um, I’d just like to say thank you to you all for coming to this, my wife’s thirty-nineth.”

A chuckle passed through the crowd, including Rose. Just hours earlier she’d read that it was her “mum’s” fortieth birthday. 

“Trust me on this,” Pete continued, raising his thumb like he did in his advertisements, “And so, without any further ado, here she is, the birthday girl, my lovely wife, Jackie Tyler.”

And with that, Jackie Tyler descended the stairs dressed in the way that Rose was longing to be dressed at the moment, and smiling brightly at the gathered crowd. They all cheered until she gestured for them to be quiet, then she began to speak, “I’m not givin’ a speech, that’s what my parties are famous for. No work, no politics, just a few good mates, and plenty of black market whiskey. Pardon me, Mr. President. So yeah, enjoy, enjoy!”

As soon as she finished speaking, the party resumed, and the Doctor turned to Rose, whose bored face he mistook for sadness. “You can’t stay, even if there were some way of telling them,” he told her. 

She looked up at him, this time putting on an actual expression of sadness, “I know, Doctor, I’ve still got my mum at home, my real one, don’t I? I couldn’t just leave her. It’s just, they’ve got each other, and she’s got no one.”

The time lord briefly took her hand in his, and squeezed it, “She has you. Those two haven’t. All these worlds, and not one of them gets it right.”

Rose sighed, “Yeah, it’s not fair,” she replied. 

He was about to say something else to comfort her, but he was interrupted by the sound of Jackie’s voice calling out the name of the woman next to him. “Rose?” she called out, “Rose! Come here Rose!”

The blonde raised a confused eyebrow. She’d looked up the Tylers. They’d never had kids. There was no Rose Tyler in this universe. How was it possible that Jackie was calling out for a Rose she didn’t have?

Suddenly a small yorkie appeared before them, yipping away as it rushed up to Jackie, who smiled in relief, “There’s my little girl,” she said picking up the small dog, and walking away.

Rose blinked a few times, stunned by what she’d seen. Everything was indeed the same, but a little bit different. Evidently, some things were more different than others. She glanced up at the Doctor to try to gauge what he was thinking, and saw him burst into laughter. She gave him a glare, and he quickly apologized. 

“Sorry, we should be getting back to work,” he suggested, walking off in another direction. She quickly followed, but not to quickly so she wouldn’t spill the glasses she was carrying.

Rose then walked off in another direction, and watched on as Jackie Tyler conversed with the president. From what she could hear, this Jackie was nothing but a self-obsessed rich woman who enjoyed making fun of the poor in her spare time. So far, she still seemed far less annoying than the other Rose’s agitating bore of a mum. 

“I remember her twenty first,” a man said, appearing by Rose’s side very suddenly, “Pint of cider in the George.”

The ganger blinked a few times, realizing that the man beside her was Pete Tyler, the other girl’s parallel father. “Champagne?” she offered him.

He graciously took a glass from her tray, “Oh, might as well, I’m paying for it,” he said. 

Rose nodded, “It’s a big night for you,” she commented. 

“For her. Still, she’s happy.”

“She should be. It’s a nice party.”

“Do you think?”

Rose raised her free thumb and tried to imitate Pete’s commercial, “You can trust me…”

He quickly corrected her, “You can trust me on this.”

The blonde laughed, “Yeah, sorry,” she apologized, “So, how long have you two been married?”

“Twenty years.”

“And no kids? Just a dog?”

“Nah, we kept putting it off, she didn’t want to spoil her figure.”  
“Don’t think it’s too late, she’s only forty.”

“Thirty-nine.”

The two shared another laugh, and Rose found herself actually liking the other Rose’s parallel dad. He wasn’t the worst human she’d ever met. “See, not too late, then,” she replied.

“No, it’s still too late, I moved out last month, but we’re going to keep it quiet. Bad for business. Why am I telling you all this? We haven’t met before have we?”

Rose shook her head, “No, definitely not,” she said, truthfully. Technically, this version of Rose had never met any version of Pete before this day. She’d never even seen him. “Have a good evening, Mr. Tyler,” she added, bidding him farewell, then heading off to find the Doctor.

She found him fairly quickly, and he smiled sickeningly at her when he saw her walk back into the same room. “Where’d you head off to?” He asked. 

“I had a chat with my dad… Pete, rather,” she told him, “He’s a good man. Seems fame hasn’t gone to his head.”

The man beside her raised an eyebrow, “Remember, not your world,” he reminded her. 

She nodded, “I know,” she replied before they walked on into the crowd to keep serving the party guests. 

As they walked, Rose began to get bored despite having been serving for no more than ten minutes at a time, and she tapped on the Doctor’s shoulder with her free hand. “You know, I think I saw Pete’s office just down that hall back there,” she told him, “Maybe we could go in, sneak a peek at what sneaky Pete here is doing?”

He shook his head, “Nah, we’ve got the perfect way to get information already,” he replied, “We’re staff, no one pays attention to us, they’ll tell us anything.”

The blonde grimaced, “Exactly, we’re staff, no one pays attention to us, no one will notice if we just set our trays down on some decorative tables and slip away for a few moments, will they?”

The Doctor though for a moment, and she watched his eyes, watched as he contemplated all of the possibilities running through his head. Barely three seconds passed before he made a decision, which was helped by the flirtatious look his companion was giving him, then he sighed, “Oh, alright,” he muttered, then they set down their trays, and Rose led him to the office. 

As soon as they got there, the Doctor found a working laptop, and he and Rose sat down in front of it, the Cybus industries logo flashing brightly on its screen, “Welcome to Cybus industries,” John Lumic’s voice announced. The Doctor and Rose both grinned widely, “I told you this would be better,” she bragged.

He laughed, and then pressed a few keys on the keyboard, which led them to another screen showing what appeared to be a multitude of files waiting to be opened. While he looked through the files, Rose pulled herself closer to him, and planted a kiss on his cheek, then another one closer to his jaw line, and grinned seductively up at him. 

The Doctor’s lips spread widely into a smile, “Rose, I’m trying to focus,” he protested, even though he really didn’t want her to stop. She didn’t, and she proceeded to untie his bowtie, and open up the first few buttons of his shirt, before pressing kisses onto his neck. 

After that, she moved back up to his face, and took it in her hands before kissing him on the lips, and reaching one of her hands behind his head in order to tug on his hair as they kissed. 

She found that doing this provided an excellent way to get rid of the boredom she’d once again found when they sat down, and waited to find information. It also helped that he was an excellent kisser, and that shouldn’t go to waste before she killed him. She deepened the kiss, and undid a few more of his shirt buttons before turning his entire swivel chair in her direction to face her, and kissing him again.

He let out a small giggle between kisses, “We really, really shouldn’t be doing this right now,” he reminded her. 

Rose slowly pulled away, “Maybe, but we wasted all that time trying to deny how we felt, and now that everything’s in the open…” she said, almost high fiving herself for a fantastic performance, she almost believed the words she was saying, “I just don’t want to waste anymore.”

The Doctor gave her his signature smile, then he pressed a kiss to her forehead, “Don’t worry, we won’t,” he told her, “As soon as we’re back in our world, I’m all yours.”

“I’m gonna hold that against you,” Rose muttered as he turned himself back to the screen in front of him. 

Grinning, he looked back at the files that were on display before him, and he clicked on the first one, labeled “Metal Men Presentation.” 

“Metal men?” Rose questioned, her eyebrows furrowing together in confusion. Was this universe so different that it now had both metal men and regular humans? What other things could “metal men,” mean?

The time lord shrugged, “Let’s have a look, shall we?” he asked as a video began to load. 

It played within seconds, and once again, John Lumic’s voice rang through the room, “The most precious thing on Earth is the human brain,” he started, then continued into a spiel on immortality, and human’s instinctual desire to live forever. 

Rose tried her hardest to pay attention, but she quickly found herself distracted by a rising bloodlust. Apparently leaving her home universe did not get rid of her killer instincts. She had to think fast, if she didn’t get a hold of herself, she could make a fatal mistake, and destroy the mission. 

“… with a skin of steel, and no emotions…” John Lumic continued, bringing Rose slightly out of her temporary murderous state, but not enough for it to disappear entirely. She looked up at the Doctor, trying to gain knowledge of whatever she hadn’t listened to whilst distracted by looking at the expression on his face. He looked thoroughly frightened, a mixture of fear, curiousity, and concern showing boldly on his face. 

“This is the ultimate upgrade. Our greatest step into Cyberspace.”

“Cybers,” the Doctor breathed, standing up suddenly, not even bothering to button his shirt, which was nearly halfway unbuttoned thanks to Rose’s hands. Rose quickly stood up before he ran out of the room, not even bothering to grab his fallen bowtie, and she followed him out. 

“Doctor, what is it?” She asked him, grateful for something to focus on other than her bloodlust, “What’s happening?”

“It’s happening again,” he said, ignoring the looks he was starting to get from party goers around them.

“What do you mean, Doctor?”

“I’ve seen them before. The metal men? I’ve seen them.”

“What are they?”

“Cybermen,” the Doctor said as they approached a window to find a bright light pointing at them, and what looked like a few dozen of the metal men marching in unison towards the Tyler mansion. 

Rose’s face fell, “Oh, shit,” she breathed, “We’ve got to get out of here.”

The Doctor shook his head, “There’s no time,” he replied, “I have no doubt that they’ve got the entire house surrounded. We don’t even have enough time to warn them.”

The two of them looked on as the Cybermen approached the house, their loud stomping growing louder and louder as they drew closer and closer. Even the party guests had started to notice the noise, so by the time the Doctor screamed at people to get away from the windows, their screams weren’t in shock, but in horror.

Everyone shot away from the mansion’s windows as the Cybermen broke through them, and stomped into the room, ignoring the guests around them as they seemed to walk right through them. They only stopped when they had the room surrounded, the president in particular. 

Suddenly, the president’s cell phone began ringing, and with an exasperated look on his face, he picked it up, “Mr. Lumic,” he practically hissed. 

No one could hear what was happening on the other end of the line, but the Doctor and Rose could guess it was John Lumic bragging about his invention. 

“I forbade this,” the president said in response to the Cybermen’s inventor. 

Rose looked around the room, and took a moment to study the strange creatures surrounding her. They were certainly human shaped with blank metal eyes and a mouth made of what looked like LED lights, which presumably lit up whenever they spoke. The handles on top of their heads almost made her laugh, and wonder why someone would design such a fearsome life form that looked as threatening as a toaster. 

“What are they, robots?” she asked the Doctor. 

“Worse than that,” he replied solemnly. 

She looked back at the president, who was still angrily speaking on the phone with Lumic, “Who were these people?” she heard him ask. 

Rose raised both of her eyebrows, “They’re people?” She whispered quietly. 

He gave her a curt nod, “They were, until they had their humanity taken away,” he explained in the same hushed tone, “That’s a living brain jammed inside a cybernetic body, with a heart of steel. All emotions removed.”

“Why no emotions?”

The Doctor turned to face her, “Because it hurts,” he confessed. 

Rose looked back at the scene unfolding before them, and watched as the president at last hung up his phone, and faced the Cybermen in front of him. “WE HAVE BEEN UPGRADED,” the Cyberman announced. 

The Doctor was the first to respond, “Into what?”

“THE NEXT LEVEL OF MANKIND. WE ARE HUMAN POINT TWO. EVERY CITIZEN RECEIVES A FREE UPGRADE. YOU WILL BECOME LIKE US.”

The president shook his head, “I’m sorry for what’s been done to you,” he told the Cyberman, “but you have to listen to me. This experiment ends tonight.”

“UPGRADING IS COMPULSORY,” the Cyberman refuted.

“And if I refuse?” the president inquired. 

The Doctor stepped forward, “Don’t,” he warned the president. 

“What if I refuse?” the president continued.

“I’m telling you, don’t!”

“What happens if I refuse?”

There was the briefest of pauses before the Cyberman spoke again, “THEN YOU ARE NOT COMPATIBLE,” it replied. 

“What happens then?” the president asked, sealing the final nail in his coffin. 

“YOU WILL BE DELETED,” the Cyberman announced, placing its hand on the president’s neck, and electrocuting him. 

As the president fell to the floor, the entire room erupted into chaos as the rest of the party guests tried to run for safety. Some of them were electrocuted by the other Cybermen as they ran out, others surrendered. Not the Rose and the Doctor, though, for they ran out of one of the broken windows as swiftly as they could, barely looking back at the party they’d left behind. 

Right before they turned the corner of the mansion, Rose looked back, and saw Pete Tyler running out of the mansion looking about helplessly as to where to head next. Rose almost called out to him, but then settled for a simple “follow me” gesture when his wandering eyes landed on her. She saw him head in their direction as she and the Doctor continued running hand in hand away from the danger. 

The Doctor didn’t notice Pete until he caught up to them, but he was grateful to see the man, “Pete, is there a way out?” He asked, hoping the man could provide the three of them with a safe exit from the party. 

“The side gates,” Pete panted, “Who are you? How do you know so much? What you said back there—?”

“You wouldn’t believe it in a million years,” the Doctor interrupted him as they continued running, before they were cut off by more Cybermen, and had to change their direction.

Suddenly, two figures appeared to be running towards them carrying heavy guns in front of the floodlights the Cybermen had with them. “Who is that?” Rose asked, noticing that one of the figures looked familiar even from a distance. 

That was when she got her answer, and Mickey’s voice called out, “Get behind me!”

The three of them gathered behind Mickey and his mysterious blonde friend as they opened fire on the approaching Cybermen. Their bullets did nothing but bounce off of the creatures’ steel skin, and nothing to stop them from almost completely surrounding the group before stopping abruptly. 

This gave Rose time to give Mickey a once over, “What the hell did you get into?” She asked curiously, “How did you get that gun?”

The man beside her glared at her like she was a stranger, “No offense, sweetheart, but who the hell are you?” was the unexpected response he gave her. 

Another voice called out to them, and Rose turned towards the sound of approaching human footsteps, “Rose! That’s not me!” Mickey cried.

The Doctor groaned, “Ah, as if things weren’t bad enough, there are two Mickeys.”

The Mickey with a gun scoffed, “It’s Rickey,” he muttered. 

The real Mickey looked at their surroundings in horror as more Cybermen approached, at last leaving them completely surrounded, “But there are more of them,” he observed, clutching Rose’s arm in fear. If there was one thing Rose just could not stand about Mickey, it was his incessant need to be coddled whenever there was trouble. He never did seem to stand his own in a fight. 

“I know, Mickey,” she said, “We’re surrounded. Doctor, what do we do?”

The Doctor looked at Rickey and his blonde friend, “Put the guns down, bullets won’t stop them,” he commanded them.

The blonde didn’t listen, and unleashed a torrent of bullets on the metal men facing them before the Doctor reached down and pushed the gun out of his hands, “No! Stop shooting! Now!” He ordered the man, before putting his hands up, “We surrender! Hands up. There’s no need to damage us, we’re good stock. We volunteer for the upgrade program. Take us to be processed.”

This didn’t seem to satisfy the Cybermen, for one of them immediately told them something that turned an already bad situation into a hellish situation, “YOU ARE ROGUE ELEMENTS.”

“But we surrender,” the Doctor protested.

“YOU ARE INCOMPATIBLE!”

“But this is a surrender!”

“YOU WILL BE DELETED!”

“But we’re surrendering! Listen to me! This is a surrender!”

“YOU ARE INFERIOR. MAN WILL BE REBORN AS CYBERMAN. BUT YOU WILL PERISH UNDER MAXIMUM DELETION.”

The Cybermen held up their arms in unison, and prepared to kill all of them, “DELETE! DELETE! DELETE!” They cried. 

Rose panicked, sure killing them all would include killing the Doctor, but she had now lost the right to kill him herself. She would fail the mission. Madame Kovarian would surely never find out what she’d done now. She was going to die right here in the parallel earth. At least in the end, he would die, too, she supposed. Just because she failed the mission didn’t mean that the end goal wouldn’t be reached. With that thought, Rose closed her eyes, and prepared for her imminent death.


	13. The Age of Steel: Suspicious Mickey

Just as they were all certain that the Cybermen were going to kill them, Rose saw the Doctor pull something out of his jacket, and point it at the metal men. The tiny object released a blinding white light in the direction of each of their assailants, and within a few seconds, they were all on the ground. 

There was a moment of silence before Ricky asked,“What the hell was that?” 

The Doctor shook his head, “No time, we’ve got to move,” he told them before leading the group in the direction of a blue van that had been approaching them. The driver looked human, he figured he might as well give it a shot.

The woman in the driver’s seat honked the van’s horn, “Everybody in!” she cried. Everyone except for Pete didn’t hesitate to get inside. 

“I have to go back, my wife’s in there!” he shouted, pointing to the house. 

Rose rolled her eyes, “Just go!” she replied, reaching out of the van and pulling him in. She figured that was Rose enough. As soon as he was inside, she and the Doctor slammed the doors shut, and the mysterious woman drove them off into the night.

Once they’d all settled in, the Doctor pulled out the mysterious weapon he’d just used on the Cybermen, and the group stared at it curiously. “Doctor, what is that?” Rose asked.

He put it back into his pocket, “Little bit of technology from home,” he told her, taking her hand in his.

Mickey cleared his throat, “I noticed it’s stopped glowing,” he commented, “Has it run out?”

The Doctor shook his head, “It’s on a revitalizing loop, it’ll charge back up in about four hours,” he replied.

Mickey’s doppelganger sighed, “So we don’t have a weapon anymore?”

The blonde sitting next to him scoffed, “Yeah, we’ve got weapons,” he muttered, “Might not be good enough for one of those things, but they’ll be good enough for men like him.” He pointed to Pete Tyler, who was sitting next to Rose. 

The ganger raised an eyebrow and gave the man beside her an inquisitive stare, “Well, what exactly did you do, Mr. Tyler?”

The blonde laughed, “Oh, what hasn’t he done? He’s laid out a trap that’s wiped out the government and left Lumic in charge.” 

Pete gaped at him, “If I was a part of all that, do you think I would’ve left my wife inside?” He asked.

“That’s a good point,” Rose commented.

“Maybe your plan went wrong,” Mickey retorted, “Still gives us the right to execute you, though.”

The Doctor chose that moment to pipe in, “Talk about executions, and you’ll make me your enemy,” he warned them, “And trust me, you don’t want to do that.”

Rose rolled her eyes. She’d absentmindedly been plotting his execution since the moment she was created from the flesh. “What he said,” she mumbled, hoping that the real Rose would have agreed with that statement, too. Being cut off from her information source was beginning to really drive her nuts. 

“All the same, we have evidence that says Pete Tyler’s been working for lumic since twenty point five,” Ricky said.

“Is that the truth?” Rose asked her ganger’s father.

The woman in the driver’s seat glanced at them in the mirror, “We’ve got a government mole that feeds us information,” she confessed, “Secret broadcasts twice a week.”

“And the mole told you that he’s one of them?” Rose asked, giving him a slightly disgusted look. If this really was Rose’s father’s parallel, and he’d nearly just gotten her killed, he was certainly dying tonight, and not via Cyberman either.

“Hold on,” Pete protested, “Broadcasts from Gemini?”

Ricky glared at him, “And how would you know that?”

“I’m Gemini.”

“Yeah, you would say that.”

“Encrypted wave length six five seven using binary nine. That’s the only reason I was working for Lumic. To get information. I thought I was broadcasting to the secret service, but no. What do I get? Scooby Doo and his gang. They’ve even got the van!”

Rose found herself laughing quietly. That was even better than good Rose’s father being a government agent. Him being a low level spy.

“Wait, but the Preachers know what they’re doing,” Mickey said, naming the group, “Ricky said he’s London’s Most Wanted.”

Ricky hesitated before he spoke again, “Yeah, not exactly, mate,” he mumbled.

“Not exactly what?”

“I’m London’s most wanted for parking tickets.”

Rose looked over to the Doctor, and saw him smiling cheekily beside her. He was getting a kick out of this. She mimicked his expression, then dropped it when she saw the look on Mickey’s face. 

“Yeah, they were deliberate,” Ricky added, trying to make his title seem more bad ass, “I was fighting the system. Park anywhere, that’s me.”

The Doctor laughed, “Good policy, I do much the same. I’m the Doctor by the way, if anyone’s interested.”

Rose raised her hand, “And I’m Rose, hello.”

Pete scoffed, “That’s my dog’s name,” he muttered. 

Rose nodded, “We noticed,” she replied, exchanging a knowing look with the Doctor. 

“At least I’ve got the caitering staff on my side,” her doppleganger’s father added, sighing miserably. 

Rose gently placed a hand on his shoulder, “Eh, we’re not so bad,” she replied, “Are we Doctor?”

The time lord shook his head, “No, suppose not,” he replied, “Must be bad luck, though. Seems everywhere we go there’s trouble.”

They rode in silence for another moment. The only noises were the occasional shuffling of someone’s feet, or an exasperated sigh as they rode into the city. Eventually, Pete’s voice broke through the silence, providing them all with some comfort in at least having something to respond to. 

“They took my wife,” he said suddenly, his voice cutting like a knife through the quiet.

Rose scratched her brain for something to say, but came up short, “Um, I’m sure she’s fine,” she tried to tell him, “Might still be alive.”

He shook his head, “That’s even worse,” he groaned, “Because that’s what Lumic does. He takes you, and makes you into one of those things.”

The Doctor cleared his throat, “Cybermen, they’re called cybermen,” he said, then he pointed to Pete’s ear pods, “And I’d take those off, if I were you. Lumic could be listening.”

Pete didn’t hesitate to remove the pods from his ears, then he handed them over to the Doctor. The time lord then took out his sonic screwdriver, and disabled the pods. “But he’s overreached himself,” he commented, “He’s still just a businessman, but he’s assassinated the president. All we need to do is get into the city and inform the authorities. Because I promise you, this ends tonight.”

The van drove rapidly down the street, “We’ll be in the city within ten minutes, Doctor,” the woman in the front announced.

“Ten minutes,” the Doctor repeated, “Better hope Lumic doesn’t get there first, eh?” he prodded Rose’s side. 

Briefly forgetting that she was supposed to act in love with him, she swatted his hand away and glared at him, before realizing her mistake, and taking his hand. “Sorry,” she muttered, “I’m just a little frazzled from all the… cyber-things…” She could only pray he accepted that as a Rose thing to do.

Mercifully, he did, and the time lord caressed her face, “I know,” he replied, “And I’m sorry. I’ll get you out of this alive, I promise.”

“What about me?” Mickey interjected.

“You too,” the Doctor responded, “I’m getting both of you out of here alive, safe and sound. We’ll make a visit to your homes, soon as we’re back in our… um, country…” He didn’t want to say universe and add a whole other issue to their plate. They already had enough to worry about without having to explain the parallel universes to the people in the van. 

Rose leaned her head on his shoulder, “And I’m still holding you to your promise from earlier,” she whispered flirtaciously in his ear. 

He giggled, and she rolled her eyes, knowing he couldn’t see, but Mickey could. When she locked eyes with him, she noticed him giving her a weird stare, and she awkwardly smiled at him, not wanting to give anything away.

Unfortunately, Mickey wasn’t quite as easy to convince as the Doctor seemed to be, and he was quick to question Rose’s actions. “Rose, are you alright?” he asked.

She laughed, “Yeah, why wouldn’t I be?”

“Well, you’ve just been sort of… off… all day.”

“Different world Mickey,” she replied, unknowing of the Doctor’s concern with keeping their universe secret from the people around them, “Just has me a little frazzled, is all.”

Mickey raised an eyebrow, “Since when do you say frazzled?”

The blonde shrugged, “Since we came here, I suppose,” she answered, hoping that he’d drop it, and they could move on. 

No such luck. Now the Doctor was chiming in, “He’s right, it is a bit odd,” he confessed, “Rose, what’s going on?”

She turned and looked him in the eyes, “Doctor, I promise you, it’s nothing,” she replied, taking his hand, “Don’t worry about me.” For added measure, she kissed him on the cheek before turning away to face Mickey again. 

The boy sitting across from her still had a look of disbelief on his face. That’s when Rose realized why Mickey was seeing right through her. Without the Real Rose’s mind on hand, she couldn’t properly act like her, and Mickey had known her for years. He’d very easily be able to tell when Rose wasn’t being Rose. For this to work, she’d have to avoid him until they returned back to their universe.

Rose found that avoiding Mickey would be quite an easy task. Since he’d begun interrogating her, she discovered he’d made his way back onto her kill list. So much for their short lived friendship.

Suddenly the van began to slow to a stop, and the blonde woman in the driver’s seat turned around to face her passengers, “Alright, everyone,” she announced, “We’ve arrived.”

Ricky and his blonde friend opened the doors, and everyone in the Scooby Doo van made their way out, and onto the streets of London. Almost immediately, they all noticed something was off. 

People on the streets were walking like zombies. Their ear pods blinked as they walked in the same direction towards something they couldn’t see. None of them batted an eye as they walked in unison to what was most likely their deaths.

“What’s going on?” Rose asked as she looked around her, “What are they doing?”

The Doctor let go of her hand for a moment, and took a few steps forward, “It’s the ear pods,” he observed, “Lumic’s taken control.”

Rose shrugged, “Okay, then let’s take them off,” she replied, walking forward to get rid of random people’s ear pods. 

The time lord stopped her, “Don’t, it could cause a brainstorm,” he warned her, then he shook his head, “Human race, for such an intelligent lot, you are half susceptible. Give anyone a chance to take control, and you submit! Sometimes I think you like it.”

Rose rolled her eyes. Whether he was praising or insulting the human race, she didn’t care to hear about it. 

“Hey,” the blonde man called from a nearby street corner, “Come and see.”

The others walked over to him, and peered around the corner to see even more people, and a group of Cybermen walking down the street as well.

“Wonder where they’re all going,” Rose inquired. 

The Doctor quirked his eyebrows, “Don’t know, that’s a good question,” he replied, “Lumic must have a base of operations.”

“Battersea,” Pete told him, “That’s where he was building his prototypes.”

Rose turned to her “father”, and cocked her head to the side, “Why’s he doing it, though? Seems like an odd power grab for an ordinary business man.”

“He’s dying,” Pete admitted, “This all started as a way of prolonging life. Keeping the brain alive at any cost.”

Rose nodded, “Makes sense,” she replied, “But that’s just not right. People should die when it’s their time… No one should live too long. It gets messy.”

Weird looks were earned from both Mickey and the Doctor at this particular quote. Rose looked at the ground, and kicked a random pebble off to the side.

Ricky mercifully interrupted the silence, “Never mind that,” he said, “Come on, we need to get out of the city. Okay, split up. Mrs. Moore, you look after that bloke,” he pointed to the Doctor, “Jake, distract them. Go right, I’ll go left. We’ll meet back at Bridge Street. Move.”

With that, everyone began to split up from where they were, and follow his orders. Mickey walked up to Rose, and kissed her forehead, “I’m going with him,” he told her, gesturing to Ricky, “Stay safe.”

She nodded, “Yeah, you too,” she replied. Hopefully wishing him well would get him to lay off of interrogating her whenever the group had a moment to breathe. 

Next thing she knew, Mrs. Moore was at her, the Doctor, and Pete’s side, and she was ordering them to move. The four of them dashed down a street, but were immediately greeted by another group of Cybermen, and had to swiftly turn around down another, before finally being forced to turn down a side street, and hiding amongst the garbage cans stacked at the end. 

They could hear the Cybermen’s loud marching getting closer and closer. Rose was certain they’d get caught, and they still had hours before the Doctor’s weapon would be ready again. If they were found this time, they were surely dead. She grabbed onto his hand, and hoped for the best. 

At last, the Cybermen were right on top of them, if they leaned over the rubbish bins, they’d find them. Or, they would’ve, if it weren’t for the Doctor’s next actions. 

The time lord took his sonic out of his pocket, and raised it in the air before using it to emit a signal that caused the Cybermen surrounding them to turn away, and march back down the alley in the direction that they came.

As soon as they were out of hearing range, the four stood up, and let out the deep breaths they’d been holding. Rose brushed off her waitress dress as she stepped out from behind the bins, “Come on,” she said, “We should get out of here.”

Mrs. Moore shook her head, “We’ve got to meet up with Jake and Ricky,” she told Rose, “I’m not leaving them behind.”

Rose was about to protest, when the Doctor grabbed her hand, and said, “Alright, let’s go find them, I think Ricky said to meet them on Bridge Street.”

With that, they ran again until they reached Bridge Street. No one else was there. It was just them. Either Jake, Ricky, and Mickey hadn’t gotten there yet, or they were dead. 

Suddenly, Jake appeared. He ran breathlessly as he approached them, looking back a few times to make sure he hadn’t been followed, “I ran past the river,” he panted when he reached them, “You should have seen it. The whole city’s on the march. Hundreds of Cybermen all down the Thames.”

A few seconds later, a man who was either Mickey or Ricky ran up. He had a terrified expression on his eyes, and the five people standing before him quickly realized that whoever it wasn’t was dead. “I’m sorry…” he started, “The Cybermen… I couldn’t…”

“Are you Ricky?” Jake asked worriedly, “Are you Ricky?”

Rose stepped forward, and took a good look at the man’s face. He looked no different from Ricky, except for the fact that he was looking at her with a knowing, mild distrust. It was Mickey. “Mickey, is that you?”

Mickey looked at her in surprise, “Um, yeah, it’s me,” he replied as she threw her arms around him, “He tried, he was running. There were too many of them.”

Jake shot down Mickey’s attempts to comfort him, “Just shut it,” he muttered bitterly. 

“There was nothing I could do,” Mickey added.

“I said shut it!”

Rose pulled away from Mickey, “That really didn’t help,” she whispered, “You should try staying quiet sometimes.”

He gave her another weird look, but said nothing as the action continued to unfold before them. 

The Doctor laid a hand on Jake’s shoulder, “We can mourn him when London is safe,” he said, “For now, we move on.”

Mrs. Moore piped in at that moment, “Where next?”

“Battersea Power Station,” The Doctor replied, “We need to end this.”


	14. The Age of Steel: Following the Doctor

The remaining six people then sauntered off to the Scooby van, then they drove off to the Battersea station in silence. Rose almost wished it wasn’t so quiet, but it would’ve been inappropriate to say anything. Everyone who actually cared was grieving the loss of Ricky. This was the wrong time to start up a casual conversation.

The first person to speak up, and interrupt the silence was Mrs. Moore, who only spoke up to announce that they were approaching the power station. “We’re almost there, you lot,” she said, “We’ll be a safe distance away in five minutes.”

They’d agreed to park a quarter mile away from the station to prevent the Cybermen from spotting them before they could come up with a plan to infiltrate it, and shut down Lumic’s operation. Hopefully it would work, and they’d have enough time to get in, destroy the Cybermen of London, and get the hell out.

Rose didn’t even know why they were bothering to help these people. They weren’t even from this universe. It wouldn’t matter if they just waited out the remainder of the twenty four hours and left, never to think back on these people again. But no, the Doctor couldn’t leave, and Rose, having to pretend to be Rose, couldn’t ever suggest just leaving. That would immediately blow her cover, so she was forced to go on, and risk her life, her mission, over people that didn’t even belong to her universe.

She leaned her head on the Doctor’s shoulder as the awkward silence continued to reign supreme over the van’s passengers, and he laced his fingers through hers. Oh, how she wished he wouldn’t. The ganger wrenched her hand away, then leaned away from him, deciding that she truly wasn’t feeling like feigning their romance at the moment.

The time lord looked over at her confusedly, and raised an eyebrow, “Everything alright?” he whispered. 

She gave him a half-assed nod, “Yeah,” she replied simply. She didn’t care to come up with some lie for why she was rejecting him. It was too much effort. She just wanted to kill him and get it over with. For all she knew, Madame Kovarian was giving her the orders now, but she was in another universe and not able to receive them.

Her nod didn’t seem to convince him. Of course it wouldn’t. 

“Rose…” he protested, “You can tell me.” He squeezed her hand, “What’s going on?”

She turned to him, “I told you, I’m fine. Now isn’t a good time to talk, just drop it.”

The Doctor looked at her hesitantly, but he let go of her hand, and shifted so he faced straight ahead, instead of in her direction. Rose couldn’t tell what he was thinking, but she had a hunch that his thoughts were consumed with trying to figure out what was wrong with her. Perhaps he’d grown suspicious of her too, like Mickey had. 

Rose glanced over at Mickey, and discovered that through his saddened expression, he was indeed staring at her with a raised eyebrow. She sighed, she was certain that by the time they left this universe, he’d know her secret. He already seemed close to figuring it out. He likely knew that she wasn’t their Rose, but he didn’t know how. If he figured it out, she’d have to kill him quickly and without hesitation. 

She’d probably blame it on a Cyberman. 

At last, Mrs. Moore slowed the van to a stop, then turned to face the disgruntled group of survivors, “Alright, everyone,” she announced, “Hop off.”

With that, Pete and Jake opened the doors of the van, and one by one, they all piled out of it, and gazed at their surroundings. They were on top of a hill overlooking the power station, watching as people marched casually into the slaughter that was inevitably going on inside. Cybermen guarded the entrances, and others were marching in and out at random intervals. Likely giving their comrades information that they weren’t getting on the outside. 

“Alright, then, we’re here,” Pete said, “What’s the big plan? What’re we gonna do?”

Rose approached the Doctor, and took his hand, smirking at the surprised expression on his face, “Doctor?” She asked innocently, acting as if her bitter mood in the van had never happened. 

The Doctor looked out over the hill at the station, “Well,” he muttered, walking forward, with Rose in tow, “The whole of London’s been sealed off, and the entire population’s been taken inside that place,” he pointed to the power station, “To be converted.”

The blonde beside him tightened her grip on his hand, hoping that it would seem Rose enough, “So… We need to get in there… and shut it down?” She suggested, wondering if that was what he was thinking. 

“How the hell are we gonna do that, Rose?” Mickey asked from behind them. 

The pair turned around, and the Doctor was grinning, “Oh, I’ll think of something,” he replied cheekily. 

Rose subtly rolled her eyes. She wished that just once, he would come up with an actual plan. She was tired of being kept on her toes constantly. Just this once could he give her some sense of certainty?

“You’re just making this up as you go along, aren’t you?” She asked bitterly, then she offered him a smile when she realized how angry her tone sounded, and how oddly he and Mickey were looking at her. “Sorry, just nervous, wish we had a plan.”

The Doctor squeezed her hand, “It’s alright, Rose,” he said quietly, “But yes, I am making it up as I go along, but I do it brilliantly. Don’t you think?”

Rose rolled her eyes, this time putting a look of endearment in at the end to throw off his and Mickey’s suspicions. “You’re going to get yourself killed one day, is what I think,” she said with a chuckle. 

He smiled back at her, blissfully unaware that she meant every word of that sentence, then turned back to Mrs. Moore, who had pulled out a laptop, and set it down on the hood of the van. She was typing furiously away when the Doctor led Rose and Mickey back to her. 

“Mrs. Moore,” he called out excitedly, “What have you got?”

The older woman gave him a half-hearted smile, then looked back at the laptop, which had some sort of building schematics on display on its screen, “This is a schematic of the old factory,” she explained, “Look, cooling tunnels. Big enough to walk through.”

“We go under there, and up into the control center?” The Doctor asked. 

Rose looked up at him inquisitively as Mrs. Moore replied with a simple “Mmhmm,” and watched the smile form on his face as he realized what she was planning. 

Pete cleared his throat, “There’s another way in,” he told them, “Through the front door. If they’ve taken Jackie for upgrading, that’s how she’ll get in.”

Rose rolled her eyes. Did this man ever talk about anything but his wife? She was beginning to find it irritating. Then again, she found a lot of things irritating. Perhaps too many things. 

“We can’t just go strolling up,” the blonde protested, sparing her parallel father a glance, “We’ll be caught, then we’ll become like them.”

“Or we could,” Mrs. Moore replied, holding up what looked like a set of the ear pods everyone in parallel London was wearing, “Fake ear pods. Dead. No signal. But if you put them on, the Cybermen would mistake you for one of the crowd.”

That was actually a pretty decent idea, Rose admitted to herself, but she still didn’t understand how they’d get out. What they’d do once they got inside. She elected to not go with Pete’s idea in that second. The Doctor and Mrs. Moore’s original idea seemed much more appealing to her. 

“Then that’s my job,” Pete said to Mrs. Moore, taking a set of the fake ear pods from her. 

The Doctor grinned, “Tell you what, we can take the ear pods at the same time,” he said, “Jakey-boy,” he added, taking his sonic screwdriver out of his pocket, and pointing it at a zeppelin that was positioned on top of the power station, “Lumic’s transmitting the control signal. Must be from there. You see? Great big transmitter. Good thing Lumic likes showing off. Reckon you could take it out?”

Jake smiled, “Consider it done,” he replied, already walking off in that direction.”

The Doctor turned and faced Mrs. Moore, who had been eagerly awaiting a job since he’d started assigning them. “Mrs. Moore, would you care to accompany Rose and I into the cooling tunnels?” He asked. 

The older blonde woman managed a half-energetic grin, “How could I refuse an offer of cleaning tunnels?”

Rose found herself chuckling at that, “Sounds like a plan then, let’s get going,” she said, turning to leave the safety of their hill. She wanted this to be over with as soon as possible. She had to get back to the other universe, back to the real Rose.

The Doctor stopped her, “Hold on, Rose,” he told her, tugging lightly on her hand to prevent her from walking further, “We attack from three sides. Above, between, and below. We get to the control center, we stop the conversion machines.”

The group nodded in mutual understanding. All of them except Mickey, who looked up at the Doctor in protest, “But what about me?” he asked. 

The time lord looked down nervously at Rose, who simply squeezed his hand in response. She was a loss for words. The real Rose would’ve known what to say. But she was only a fake.

“Mickey, you can… er…” the Doctor thought for a moment, “Go with Jake, why don’t you? Sorry, Jakey-boy, gotta give Mickey something to do.”

The blonde man looked back with a slightly frustrated expression, but then motioned for Mickey to follow him, and the two headed off towards the zeppelin. 

Rose, Mrs.Moore, and the Doctor turned to face Pete, who had just finished putting in his fake ear pods. “Well, I guess this is it,” he said, “Good luck, Scooby Doo gang.” 

With that, Pete Tyler shook their hands, and then headed off into the factory to find his wife. 

“You sure you don’t want to go with him, Rose?” the Doctor asked.

“Yeah,” she replied softly, “He’s not my real father, Doctor. I know you don’t believe me, but I am aware of that. We didn’t just go to that party for him, you know.”

He nodded, then he gently leaned over, and pressed a kiss to her forehead, before turning to Mrs. Moore, “Lead the way,” he told her. 

Mrs. Moore grinned at them, then she started walking down the hill, leading the people behind her down towards what would hopefully be their victory. 

As they walked, Rose tried not to think about the thousands of ways in which she wanted to kill him at the moment. She tried not to think about the knife that she’d left in the pocket of her pink jacket back at the Tyler’s mansion. She tried even harder not to think about stopping the sound of his two hearts, the sound of the knife cutting through his flesh, the look on his face when he realized her betrayal… She wondered if he’d ever even find out that she was a fake. 

A gleeful smile made its way across the ganger’s face at that last one, but no. It would only be too satisfying to have the last thing he heard be her telling him that she hadn’t actually been the real Rose in a long time. She had been a killer ever since they’d met Sarah Jane Smith.

“What’s got you all happy?” The Doctor asked, causing Rose to drop her sudden bright expression. 

She shrugged, “Nothing,” she replied simply, “I just… Just… I just know we’re going to win?” She hoped that would work. It seemed Rose enough.

It was. The Doctor beamed at her, “We always do,” he told her, “But let’s hope you didn’t speak too soon, yeah?” He squeezed her hand. 

“You two do this sort of thing often?” Mrs. Moore asked from ahead of them. 

Rose and the Doctor looked at each other and grinned, “Oh yes,” the time lord replied, “We’ve made a sport of it. Got an Olympic medal in this stuff,” then he leaned down into Rose’s ear, “No, really, it’s in the TARDIS library. Hidden way in the back.”

She scoffed, “You’re so full of it,” she muttered. 

“Ah, but you like it,” he replied. 

God, she was tired of his cocky attitude. 

Rose took his hand in hers, and sighed, trying to think of what the right thing to say. “So, so full of it,” she added, “And thick, too.”

He feigned a gasp of shock, “No,” he said teasingly, “you take that back!”

“Don’t think I will.”

“Will too!”

“Will not.”

“But Rose!”

“But Doctor!”

“But we’re at the entrance, you two, so would you focus for a moment?” Mrs. Moore asked suddenly, interrupting their flirting. 

Rose stepped away from the Doctor, only too glad to have a distraction from having to pretend to be his lover for another minute. She looked down at the ground, and kicked at it with her feet, “Sorry, Mrs. Moore,” she mumbled, “But where’s the entrance? I don’t see it.”

“Look down,” the older woman told her.

The Doctor and his ganger companion looked down at Mrs. Moore’s feet to see that there was indeed a hatch door sticking a few inches out of the ground. It was circular, and large, but not so large that they wouldn’t be able to get it open with ease. 

“Can you open it?” the Doctor asked. 

“I can try,” Mrs. Moore replied, kneeling down on the ground, and tugging at the handle. It was no use. The hatch must’ve been locked. That would be a problem for anyone else, but not for the crew traveling with the Doctor. 

“Allow me, then,” the time lord suggested, kneeling down beside his partner in crime, and taking the sonic back out of his jacket pocket. He pressed it against the lock, and set it to unlock the door. Within five seconds, the hatch was theirs to open. The Doctor threw it open with ease, then grinned at the two women in front of him before he began climbing down the hatch. 

After he reached the bottom, he looked around, and observed that they would be in complete darkness. He had a suspicion, though, that Mrs. Moore would be able to do something about that. She’d been able to solve every other problem of theirs so far. 

“Alright, you two, come on down,” he told his companions, “Seems safe enough, so far.”

“Yeah, so far,” Rose retorted before she too descended the ladder that led into the depths of the hatch. Within seconds, she was on the floor with the Doctor, and she could hear Mrs. Moore following close behind. “Blimey, it’s freezing,” she breathed, wrapping her arms around herself, “And is there any sign of a light switch? It’s awfully dark.”

At that moment, Mrs. Moore landed on the ground beside them, “Can’t see a thing,” she observed, then they could hear her shuffling stuff around inside of her bag, “But I’ve got these,” she said, turning on a few bluish lights, and handing them to the Doctor and Rose, “A device for every occasion.”

“Ooooh,” the Doctor mumbled quietly, as he gazed upon the headband that she’d just handed him. 

“Put it on,” she ordered them both. 

They obeyed, and within seconds, the Doctor, Rose, and Mrs. Moore looked thoroughly like cave explorers. Rose almost laughed at the thought. 

“I’ve got a proper torch as well,” Mrs. Moore said after another search through her bag. She pulled out a long, round torch, then pressed the on button. 

“Let’s see where we are,” the Doctor muttered.

None of them liked what the flashlight landed on. Standing before them, all the way down a long corridor, was an enormous line of Cybermen. Emotionless, inhuman, Cybermen.

They gasped in unison, then calmed when they realized that none of the steel monsters had moved to harm them. 

Realization dawned on the Doctor’s face, “Already converted,” he murmured, “Just put on ice. Come on.” 

The three of them then proceeded down the tunnel, hoping that they wouldn’t encounter a Cyberman that wasn’t on ice. 

“Let’s go slowly, keep an eye out for trip systems,” the time lord warned them, and his two partners gave him a brief nod before training their light beams on the row of Cybermen lining the walls. 

“God, this is insane,” Mrs. Moore breathed as they walked on. 

Rose looked at her inquisitively, “What’s insane, exactly?” she asked, “I mean, besides the obvious.”

“We’re here,” she replied, “we’re finally here. Taking it all down. It’s the end for Lumic after all this time. All the hard work with the Preachers…”

The Doctor looked back at her, “How did you get into this, then, with the Preachers?” he asked in response. 

“Ooh, I love a good origin story,” Rose confessed, waiting almost eagerly to hear Mrs. Moore’s response to that question. 

“Oh, I used to be ordinary,” she admitted, “Worked at Cybus industries, nine to five, until one day, I find something I’m not supposed to. A file on the mainframe. All I did was read it. Then suddenly I’ve got men with guns knocking in the middle of the night. Life on the run. Then I found the Preachers. They needed a techie, so I sat down and taught myself everything.”

“And what about Mr. Moore,” Rose prodded, “Come on, there’s got to be one.”

“Well, he’s not called Moore,” the woman beside her said, “It’s safer not to use real names. But he thinks I’m dead, it was the only way to keep him safe. Him and the kids. What about you, Doctor? Rose? Got any family… or…?”

The Doctor shook his head, “Nah, I just borrow Rose’s, spent this past Christmas with them, actually,” he replied, looking fondly at Rose, “Quite possibly my favorite Christmas of all time.”

“Oh, it couldn’t have been that good,” Rose protested.

The time lord grinned, “It was to me,” he admitted, then he looked at Mrs. Moore, “But tell us, what’s your real name.”

“I shouldn’t.”

“Go on.”

She sighed, “Angela Price,” she whispered, “Don’t tell a soul.”

The Doctor smiled, “Not a word.” 

The group then pressed on, not noticing that they had activated a silent alarm. The enemy now knew they were there, and they were coming. 

Suddenly, Rose saw one of the Cybermen against the wall move, “Did that one just move?” she asked worriedly. 

“It’s just the torchlight,” the Doctor insisted, “Keep going.”

Rose was pretty damn certain that it wasn’t the torchlight. Those Cybermen were waking up. They had a maximum of ten seconds to get the hell out of those tunnels. The blonde could only pray that there was some sort of exit nearby. 

Another Cyberman moved, and this time, the Doctor couldn’t pretend that it was just a trick of the light. “They’re waking up!” he cried, breaking into a run, “Come on!”

They swiftly ran along the row, who fell in line behind them, and marched in their direction as they desperately fled the scene. Rose’s prayers for an exit quickly came true as they rounded a corner, and came upon a ladder leading up and out of the cooling tunnels. 

“Get up!” Mrs. Moore cried from behind them. 

The Doctor was the first one up the ladder, and Rose followed close behind him as he tried to open the hatch. She could feel Mrs. Moore’s hands on the same rungs of the ladder her feet were on. She found it incredibly irritating, a feeling which was only agitated by the stress of the incoming Cybermen, who had surrounded the base of the ladder and were reaching up at Mrs. Moore’s feet. 

The older woman screamed as one got a hold of her, and called out to Rose, “They’re coming! Move!”

But Rose was not feeling particularly generous in that moment. The bloodlust had risen, and had she been the regular Rose, perhaps she would’ve lent her a hand. Despite the fact that the Cybermen had already swamped her, the real Rose would’ve tried to help, but instead, Rose kicked her in the face until she fell backwards into the horde, and quickly disappeared from sight. 

Mercifully, the Doctor was too busy trying to get the hatch open to notice Rose’s murder, and she threw in a sorrowful, “No!” to throw off his inevitable suspicions, “Doctor, they’ve got her! We have to move!”

The time lord sighed, but then at last, using the sonic he opened the door, and climbed out. He offered Rose his hand before he was even fully free of the tunnel himself, and pulled her up before slamming the hatch door shut, and locking it behind them before the Cybermen could kill them too. 

“Damn it,” he muttered, pacing the area around the hatch, “We were so close!” he threw a punch at the air. 

Rose smiled as she rested a hand on his shoulder, grateful that he wasn’t facing her, “Oh, Doctor,” she breathed, “There was nothing you could do. How were we supposed to know they’d swarm her like that? Or that she’d fall? Or that they’d wake up in the first place?”

He sighed, then gave her a brief nod, “I suppose we must’ve tripped some sort of alarm system back there,” he guessed, “If we’d just been more careful, she’d still be alive.”

“Doctor, there was nothing we could’ve done,” She told him, walking in front of him, and placing a hand on his cheek, “You know that.”

The Doctor looked down, and leaned into her touch, “Maybe, maybe not,” he mumbled, shuffling his feet awkwardly on the ground, “Still, never feels good to be responsible for the loss of human life.”

Rose could’ve laughed. This man, who had gotten millions killed, who had killed his own species, was feeling remorseful about a loss of human life? The very reason he was set to be executed by her, was the reason why he felt sorry? She didn’t believe it. Not for a second, but she had a façade to keep up. 

“You’re not responsible,” she replied, “It’s me, I should’ve tried harder to keep her up, Doctor. If I’d just held on…”

“This isn’t your fault. Understand me? This is not, and it never will be, your fault.”

He then leaned down, and pressed a brief kiss to her lips, then he pulled away, and walked around her, “Come on, now, we’ve got to get going,” he said, “Still got the mission.” 

She quickly followed him, but they didn’t go very far, for just one moment later, two Cybermen appeared before them, holding their electrocuting hands out in front of the Doctor and Rose’s faces.


	15. The Age of Steel: Caught

"Oh, great," the Doctor muttered.

The Cyberman remained emotionless as it scanned him, "Sensors detect a binary vascular system," it monotoned, "You are an unknown upgrade. You will be taken for analysis."

"Of course he is," Rose muttered bitterly.

"You will come," The Cyberman ordered them both, then it led them out of the room they'd wound up in, and towards what they both assumed was some sort of head quarters.

Rose could only hope that the Doctor still had enough tricks up his sleeve to get them out of this one. Her assassin skills only got her places with creatures whose flesh wasn't steel.

"Doctor, what are we going to do?" She asked him quietly, promising herself that she'd kill him then and there if he didn't have a plan. She figured if they were going to die anyway, she wouldn't be able to wait for orders to kill him, and there was no time like the present.

He shushed her, "We're going to keep our heads down and follow their orders," he whispered.

"So you haven't got a plan, then?"

"Rose Tyler, do you know me at all?"

Only too well. She was very well versed in all of his crimes. She knew them by heart. She could list them in chronological order. At least, chronological order in terms of the universe's general timeline.

"So you've got one then?"

"Shhhh!"

They spent the rest of the walk to wherever the Cybermen were leading them in silence, only speaking when they were finally led into some sort of control room. The room had buttons of various sorts everywhere, all sorts of control panels and computers were scattered throughout in an organized fashion. And in the center of the room, sitting on a stool, was Pete Tyler.

The Doctor sighed, "I've been captured, but don't worry, Pete's out there, he can rescue me," he said sarcastically, "Oh, never mind. You okay?"

Pete nodded solemnly, "Yeah, but they got my Jackie," he replied.

"I'm sorry, I'm so sorry."

"We were too late, Lumic killed her."

The Doctor took Rose's hand, and led her closer to the center of the room where Pete was, "Then where is he, the famous Mr. Lumic?" he asked the Cybermen, "Don't we get the chance to meet our lord and master?"

"He has been upgraded," one of the Cybermen who captured the Doctor and Rose replied.

"So he's just like you?" Rose asked, "All metal and stuff?"

"He is superior," the Cyberman retorted, "The Lumic Unit has been designated Cyber Controller."

A door opened on the other side of the room, and in wheeled a Cyberman bigger than any of the ones they had seen. He had tubes sticking out of his arms and shoulders, and even a couple from his head. His entrance was shrouded with smoke, as if for dramatic effect, and knowing Lumic, not even becoming a Cyberman could stop his love for showing off.

"This is the age of steel, and I am its creator," the Cyber-Lumic announced.

"Oh, but it won't last long," the Doctor said confidently.

"And how can you know this?" Cyber-Lumic replied.

The Doctor pointed up, then they all heard the sound of people screaming. Jake and Mickey had done it. They'd stopped the ear pods. People were free.

Rose could've kissed him. Their plan was beginning to work. They were going to get out of there alive, she could feel it. At last, she'd be free of this god awful universe.

The time lord beside her laughed, "That's my friends at work," he announced, "Mr. Lumic, I think that's a vote for free will."

"I have factories waiting on seven continents," Lumic replied, "If the ear pods have failed, then the Cybermen will take humanity by force. London has fallen. So shall the world."

"I wouldn't be too confident about that, mate," Rose mumbled under her breath. This was the part where it turned in their favor and they won just as all hope seemed lost. This was it.

Lumic didn't hear her, "I will bring peace to the world," he continued, "Everlasting peace, and uniformity, and unity."

The Doctor stepped forward, and let go of Rose's hand, shoving both of his in his pockets, "And imagination?" he asked, "What about that? The one thing that led you here, imagination, you're killing it dead!"

"What is your name?"

"I'm the Doctor."

"A redundant title. Doctors need not exist. Cybermen never sicken."

The Doctor shook his head, "Yeah, but that's it," he replied, "That's exactly the point! Oh, Lumic, you're a clever man. I'd call you a genius, except I'm in the room."

"So full of it," Rose muttered.

"But you like it," he reminded her, "Anyway, Lumic, everything you invented, you did it to fight your sickness, and that's brilliant. That is so human. But once you get rid of sickness, and mortality, then what's there to strive for, eh? The Cybermen won't advance. You'll just stop. You'll stay like this forever. A metal earth with metal men and metal thoughts, lacking the one thing that makes this planet so alive. People. Ordinary, stupid, brilliant people."

"There goes 'humans are brilliant' speech number thirty seven," Rose mumbled to Pete.

"You are proud of your emotions," Lumic observed.

"Oh, yes," the Doctor replied, glancing at Rose, and smiling at her.

"Then tell me, Doctor, have you known rage? Grief? Pain?"

"Yes. Yes I have."

"And they hurt?"

"Oh, yes."

"I could set you free. Would you not want that? A life without pain?"

"I could never. Because pain makes you who you are. It shapes your entire life, Lumic, and you can't deny it. It is a part of us."

Rose stepped up beside him, "What he said, plus, with emotions, Mr. Lumic, I think you'll find a lot of things in life much more satisfying," she added, glancing up at the Doctor. She was certainly going to find killing him much more satisfying with all of her emotions intact.

He mistook it for a look of affection, then stared back up at Lumic, "You can't make me like you," he breathed, "You might as well kill me."

"Then I take that option," Lumic retorted.

"It's not yours to take!" the Doctor cried, "You're a Cyber Controller, you don't control me, or anything with blood in its heart."

"You have no means of stopping me. I have an army. A species of my own."

The Doctor began pacing, "You just don't get it, do you?" he asked the Cyber controller, "An army's nothing. Because ordinary people, they're the key. The most ordinary person could change the world." He glanced up into the corner of the room as he spoke.

Rose followed his gaze, and observed a small security camera hidden within that exact corner. She looked up at him confusedly, then remembered Mickey and Jake in the zeppelin. They were watching. They'd likely been watching the whole exchange. Perhaps even from the moment the Cybermen had led her and the Doctor into the room. Somehow, they were the final solution to their problem. She was about to be saved by Mickey the Idiot.

"Some ordinary man, or woman," the Doctor continued, "Some idiot. All it takes is for him to find say… The right numbers, the right codes. Say, for example, the code behind the emotional inhibitor. The code right in front of him."

"Oh my god," Rose breathed, realizing that this was what the Doctor had planned. This was the plan that stopped her from killing him earlier.

"Because even an idiot knows how to use computers these days. Knows how to get past firewalls and passwords…Knows how to find something encrypted in the Lumic family database, under, uh… What was it, Pete? Binary nine?"

Pete gave him a nod, "Binary nine," he confirmed.

"An idiot could find that code," the Doctor explained, "The cancellation code. And he'd keep on typing…"

Rose couldn't believe this was happening. How had the Cyber controller in front of them not realized that the Doctor was giving step by step instructions on how he was going to beat him?

"… Anything to save his friends."

"Your words are irrelevant," the Cyber controller replied, not getting the message.

The Doctor winked at Rose, "Yeah, talk too much, that's my problem," he said, "Lucky I got you that cheap tariff, Rose, for all our long chats… On your phone…"

"You will be deleted."

"Yes. Delete. Control. Hash. All those lovely buttons. Then, of course, my particular favorite, send! And let's not forget how you seduced all those ordinary people in the first place. By making every bit of technology compatible with everything else."

At that moment, Rose's phone vibrated with a text. She quickly pulled it out of her pocket, and handed it to him, "It's for you," she said with a grin.

"Thanks," he replied, taking the phone, and placing it into a docking station. Suddenly, a code appeared on every computer screen in the room, and the Cybermen cried out in pain, clutching their metal heads.

The three people in the room were finally free to move about, and Rose watched as the remorseful Doctor stared on at a Cyberman, seeing its reflection for the first time. "I'm sorry, I'm so sorry," he told it.

"We've got to get out of here," she said urgently, placing a hand on his shoulder, "Doctor, Pete, let's move!"

Before they could leave, Cyber-Lumic called out to them, "What have you done?" he asked in despair—well, as close to despair as a Cyberman could get.

"I gave them back their souls," the Doctor replied as he led Rose and Pete out of the control room, "They can see what you've done, Lumic, and it's killing them!"

He ignored Lumic's agonized "Noooo!" as he ran out of the room, with Rose and Pete in tow.

"Move faster!" Rose cried as things began to explode around them. Streams of fiery debris rained down on them like hellfire. She let out a yelp as one singed her forearm, and then continued running, not even bothering to check if Pete was behind her.

They turned a corner, then found their exit blocked by Cybermen. Rose watched panic set in on the Doctor's face, "Don't tell me, that's our exit," she muttered.

He nodded, "I won't tell you."

Rose's phone rang in that moment, and she picked up to hear Mickey's voice on the other end of the line.

"Rose?" he called out desperately, "Head for the roof! We'll pick you up!"

"Sounds like a plan!" she cried as more debris rained down around her. She hung up her phone, then looked at the Doctor, "Mickey says head for the roof!"

The three of them then ran up a metal staircase as more fires broke out behind them. They ran faster and faster until at last they reached the exit leading to the roof. They were so close to safety, but just where was that exit plan Mickey had come up with?

Suddenly, Rose spotted a ladder dangling down from above, and she remembered the zeppelin. Mickey was using the zeppelin to rescue them. It wasn't the worst rescue she could think of. Immediately, she ran for the ladder, fully aware that the Doctor was on her heels.

He beat her to the ladder for the second time that night, and jumped up onto it. She was sure to not be far behind. She grinned up at him as they climbed, then, deciding it was the Rose thing to do, she leaned back and gave Pete a hand, helping him up onto the ladder with them. Her parallel father looked grateful, then the three of them continued to climb up the ladder towards the zeppelin.

A voice came over the zeppelin's speakers, "Hold on tight, we're going up," Mickey announced, "Welcome to Mickey Smith Airlines, please enjoy your flight. Woo!"

Rose laughed, finding her newly developed hatred for Mickey lessening by the second. Saving her life twice in one night definitely counted for something in her book. She didn't count any of the Doctor's life saving moments. He was her target.

The zeppelin rose further into the air, and Rose climbed high enough that she was face to face with the Doctor, "We did it!" she cried.

He grinned, then he leaned forward, and kissed her as well as he could considering he was leaning precariously over a ladder one thousand feet in the air. She feigned a smile into the kiss, and reached a free hand up to caress his cheek.

Their moment was interrupted by the feeling of something heavy tugging on the ladder's ropes. The Doctor and Rose broke away from their kiss and looked down to see that below Pete, the Cyber-Lumic had somehow gotten a hold of their ladder, and was climbing slowly towards them.

The Doctor and Rose glanced at each other worriedly, then he pulled his sonic screwdriver out of his jacket, and tossed it to Pete, "Use this! Hold the button down! Press it against the ladder!" he yelled to him.

Pete Tyler didn't question the orders, and pressed the sonic to the ladder's ropes, "Jackie Tyler," he cried, "This is for her!"

It took a moment, a very fearful moment, but eventually, Pete's actions worked, and the rope was severed. Not a moment later, Cyber-Lumic began to fall to his death with one, villainous, "NOOOOOOO!" as he fell into the flames of his factory.

Finally, the exhausted group had time to breathe, and the Doctor sighed as he leaned his head against the ladder, and stared into Rose's eyes. "We did it," he murmured, smiling weakly at his companion.

She nodded, also leaning her head against the ladder, "Yeah," she replied, "We should probably get inside now. I don't fancy getting rope burn."

"Ah, yes, good point," the Doctor replied as they began to climb again, "But I don't think it'd be like last time. You were able to support your feet this time. Should be perfectly fine."

Rose didn't say anything. Thanks to her lack of access to the real Rose's memories, she had no idea what the hell he was talking about. She remained silent until they climbed inside of the zeppelin, and went to greet their friends.

Jake and Mickey were beaming with pride when they saw them. Mickey actually let out a cheer, but he wouldn't look at Rose. Something was off. She knew something was off. Mickey had had his suspicions, but he'd never looked at her that way. Whenever he looked at Rose, he had a look of utter confusion and betrayal. Whenever he looked at everyone else, it was that same prideful look that appeared on Jake's face.

The blonde ganger could only pray that he hadn't figured out it was her. Her chances were slim, but she was still hopeful that he wouldn't figure it out. If he found out, there wasn't much she could do, except pray that she could somehow kill him and pass it off as a brutal accident.

As soon as all of the hugs and reunions were over with, the Doctor turned to Mickey, "Mickey the idiot," he said proudly, "Not so stupid after all, eh?"

"Shut it," Mickey replied with a smile on his face, "I was always as good as you, you'd never admit it, but I was good."

The Doctor returned the grin, "Well, that said, if you don't mind, Mickey the genius," he said, "Could you take us back to the TARDIS? Those twenty four hours are almost up."

Mickey gave him a salute, "I certainly can," he replied, resuming his position at the captain's wheel, "This is your captain speaking," he said into his microphone, "We are en route to the TARDIS. Time of arrival… Five minutes?"

"Ten," the Doctor corrected.

"Ten minutes," Mickey corrected himself, "Whoo!"

Rose walked up to the Doctor's side, and slid her hand into his, lacing their fingers together, "It's all over now," she said, "And thank god, too. One more minute in this place, and I would've gone mad."

The Doctor raised a curious eyebrow, "Even though you got to see…" he gestured vaguely at Pete, in case the other man could hear what they were saying.

She nodded, "Yeah," she replied, "He's not the real one, Doctor. How many times have I got to tell you?"

He sighed, "You're right, I suppose," he pressed a kiss to her forehead, "I'm ready to go home, too."

Ten minutes later, they parked the zeppelin two blocks away from the TARDIS's location, then they waited while the Doctor placed the power cell.

Pete and Rose were waiting outside while Mickey and Jake rushed off to his mansion to find Rose and the Doctor's clothes. The time lord had been insistent that he keep his coat. He just couldn't leave without it. Rose didn't understand why. It was just a stupid fucking coat. She wanted to get out of there.

"So, what happens inside that thing, then?" Pete asked curiously, pointing to the TARDIS.

Rose shrugged, "Don't really know," she replied, "Why? Did you want to see it, or…?"

Pete shook his head, "No, no thanks," he said, "But you two… you know… all that stuff you said about different worlds… Who are you?"

Rose sighed, "Well, basically, there are different worlds, parallel worlds, and such, with another Pete and Jackie Tyler. One I come from? They've got a daughter. I'll wager you ten quid as to who that is." She pointed to herself, then laughed as the man beside her blanched.

"Oh…" he said quietly, "I've got to go."

Rose was having a little too much fun making Pete uncomfortable, "You sure you don't want to look inside?" She asked.

He shook his head, "No, I can't," he replied casually, "There's all those Lumic factories out there. All those Cybermen in storage. Someone's got to tell the authorities what happened, carry on the fight…"

She nodded, "I know what you mean," she muttered, "Might want to take Jake with you. Last of the Preachers and all."

He laughed, "Good idea, but no, I can't live that sort of life, I've got a business to maintain," he replied, "And I've got to go. Um, good luck, Rose." He gave her an awkward pat on the arm, then Pete Tyler disappeared into the night.

"Rose!" the Doctor called out, sticking his head out of the TARDIS doors, "I've only got five minutes of power, we've got to go."

She gave him a nod, "Well, you better hope that Jake and Mickey appear soon," she told him, "Or else you'll lose your coat!"

He looked like she'd told him his mother died, "Oh, that won't happen," he assured her.

The time lord was right. In that moment, Mickey and Jake came strolling up to the TARDIS, the Doctor and Rose's clothes in their hands.

"Here it is," Mickey said, handing the Doctor his suit and jacket, "I found it. Not a crease."

The Doctor beamed at him, "My suit!" he exclaimed happily, "Good man. Now then, we've got to run, but… Jake, Mrs. Moore… Her real name was Angela Price. She's got a husband out there, children. Find them, tell them how she died saving the world."

Jake nodded, "Yeah, of course I will."

The Doctor turned to Mickey and Rose, "Off we go, then," he said, beginning to walk back to the TARDIS.

"I'm staying," Mickey announced suddenly.

Rose looked at him in shock, "You're what?"

"I'm staying, Rose."

There was an awkward pause between them. She'd picked up on the harsh tone in his voice. He was angry with her. She strongly suspected that he was staying so he could get away from her, but why?

"Doctor, could you give Rose and I a minute?" Mickey asked, staring Rose intensely in the eyes.

"We haven't got long," the Doctor warned them.

"I'll only be a minute," Mickey replied.

With that, the Doctor gave him a curt nod, then stepped inside of the TARDIS, leaving Mickey and Rose alone on the street, save Jake, who was standing a few feet away.

"Why are you leaving?" Rose asked, attempting to put on the act for Mickey one last time. Secretly, she couldn't be more relieved. Now he wouldn't be able to reveal her secret. The Doctor would never know. He'd continue to be oblivious. But if Mickey was leaving…

A plot began to brew in her murderous mind.

Mickey scoffed, "I saw the footage," he confessed, "What you did to Mrs. Moore? I had access to the security cameras up in the zeppelin."

Rose's heart stopped. So that was why he was acting weird. "I acted in self defense," she protested, "She would've dragged me down with her." It wasn't so far from the truth.

Mickey shook his head, "See, if you were you, you would've tried to save her," he told her, taking a step closer, "You've been acting off ever since Sarah Jane. I've tried to brush it off, I've made a million excuses in my mind, cause I didn't want to believe it. But I'm not stupid, Rose, and I'm not blinded by my feelings for you, not anymore. So tell me. What's going on with you?"

Rose gave him one last sorrowful look before she dropped it, and grinned wickedly, "Oh, Mickey," she breathed, "He calls you an idiot, but you're truly smarter than he is. At least, right now you are." She was amazed that she even dropped Rose's usual tone of voice, taking on a deeper, darker tone. She hadn't really had much time to speak in her true voice. She'd instantly been thrust into the role of Rose Tyler, and spoken in lighter, happier tones compared to the one that reflected her true, villainous nature.

"Rose, whoever you are, tell me the truth," Mickey demanded.

"Mickey, Mickey, Mickey," she muttered, "Silly, Mickey. I'm just a woman on a mission. A mission to kill the Doctor. Have you ever heard of a ganger, Mickey? Like a doppelganger?"

Mickey almost looked scared, "No, I can't say I have," he replied, backing away from her, "Why? Is that what you are? You're Rose's doppelganger? Like her evil twin?"

"Not exactly," she said, wrapping her arms around him, "Hug me, this has to look like a goodbye, and don't protest, because I will kill you if you do anything to reveal what I've told you before I get to the TARDIS."

Mickey seemed to choke on his words, but he hesitantly wrapped his arms around her, and sighed, "What are you? Why are you doing this?"

"I'm a doppelganger, engineered from Rose Tyler's DNA," she confessed, "I was made to kill the Doctor, execute him for his crimes against the universe. He's a killer far worse than I, and he must be stopped."

Mickey gasped as she pulled him closer, "God, I'm so glad you figured it out," she breathed, "It was agonizing having to keep this, this secret from everyone."

Suddenly, the TARDIS engines made a noise. The Doctor was letting Rose know that her time was up. She smirked into Mickey's shoulder, "Now, Mickey the genius," she whispered, "Run along, and have fun in this new universe of yours. Bye, now."

With that, she left Mickey, and skipped towards the TARDIS, blowing him a kiss as she threw open the doors, and waltzed back inside.

As soon as the TARDIS doors closed, and they could hear the sound of the engines, Mickey ran up to the ship, "Doctor!" he cried, "Doctor, stop! That's not Rose! She's going to kill you! Doctor!" But it was no use. The ship was already fading too fast, it was gone.

"Doctor!" he cried one last time, "Please… God…" He fell to his knees, and stared at the space where the TARDIS had been parked just a moment earlier. He barely noticed the sound of Jake's feet as he ran up to him.

"Oi, what happened?" Jake asked, "What did you mean, 'she's gonna kill ya'?"

Mickey turned towards his blonde friend, "She's not herself," he explained, "The woman we just sent in there with him, she's going to kill him. He's going to die, and there's nothing I can do. It's too late."

The two of them then stared at the same spot, both speechless, and both wondering just what was going to happen to the Doctor now.

Meanwhile on the TARDIS…

As soon as she'd boarded, the Doctor had pressed the buttons to dematerialize them from the parallel Earth. As soon as they were gone, Rose could slowly feel her other self's mind reconnecting itself with hers. A sense of comfort washed over her, and she breathed a sigh of relief before she walked up to the Doctor, and took his face in her hands before snogging him senseless.

She wasn't even sure why she was kissing him. She hadn't particularly wanted to. The kiss must've been the real Rose's doing, but if she were to be honest, she was also grateful that he'd successfully gotten them back into the right universe.

But it still worried her that it had happened. If the real Rose had caused her to do that, that meant that their connection was still just as faulty as it had been before. She could still be exposed at any moment. Her chances were only slightly smaller with access to the real Rose's mind. She could only hope that the real Rose didn't get too much control of her mind.

After a few seconds, she pulled away, and smiled up at him, "We're back," she whispered excitedly.

He grinned, "I know, it's brilliant," he replied in the same hushed tone, "Why are we whispering?"

She shrugged, "I'm a bit tired from… All that," she said in a false confession, "Twenty four hours of nonstop action, and I'm only human, so… Tired…"

The Doctor pressed a gentle kiss to her forehead, "I know the feeling," he replied, "Tell you what, why don't we get a good night's rest, then see where the TARDIS takes us in the morning, yeah?"

She gave him a nod and a smile, "Sounds great," she said, "My room or yours?"

"Oh, mine, definitely. Yours doesn't have a cool skylight." He took her hand, and began to lead the two of them to his bedroom.

She laughed at him, "Perhaps that's something I should invest in," she said softly, "So I can sleep in my own bed."

They laughed as they entered his bedroom, and Rose found her laughter was almost genuine. At last, she was back in her universe, and her mission would finally be able to come together, it was only a matter of time. Now, as soon as Kovarian gave the order, she would be able to kill the Doctor, and end this bitter war.


	16. The Idiot's Lantern: Weapon of Choice

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This one is a bit longer than usual, but it just wouldn't have worked any other way. Have fun, folks.

That night, sleeping beside the Doctor, the ganger was plagued by nightmares. They were quite similar to the ones from their first night together, except, these were clearer. She could see images vividly this time along with the terrifying shouts and bits of dialogue. 

_“The false girl,” a deep voice said for the second time, over some sort of speaker system. She couldn’t quite tell where she was, only that the walls were gray, and the room was lit up by yellow and orange lights… A lot of people whom she’d never met before…_

_The next showed a man she had never seen before taking the cover off of Rose’s capsule, which had housed her during her slumber. He was apologizing profusely, “Rose, I’m so sorry,” he was saying softly. She couldn’t process what she was saying, it was as if she was waking up from a trance, everything was out of focus… She had no idea who this man was, or how he knew her name. All she knew was that the man was there, and he was freeing her from her restraints—no! What the hell was he doing? This couldn’t be happening…_

_Then she heard the sound the blade made as it cut through flesh, but her eyes were closed in ecstasy, she couldn’t see who she was stabbing. It could’ve been anyone. This was how she felt whenever she killed someone. A voice screamed out in pain. “Oh, but that’s not enough,” she heard herself say as she shoved it in again. The voice screamed again, it was a man’s voice..._

_“…and I’m the one holding the gun, sir, do you want to risk your life over this?” she heard herself ask. There was a sound of protest… Then some time later, after pieces she couldn’t hear or see, she fired her gun._

Rose woke up gasping for air before she could see if her target had been hit, and she panted a few times as she sat up, bunching the sheets at her waist. What the hell had she just seen? Was all of that the future? How could she see it? She glanced around her, and remembered where she was. She was on board the Tardis, and they were in the time vortex. She was suspicious that the Doctor’s stupid ship had everything to do with this.

The ganger glanced down beside her, and saw the Doctor still sleeping soundly. He almost looked innocent in his sleep. The time lord was anything but. She sighed as she swung her feet over the edge of the bed, and quietly walked out of the room. 

The console room appeared before her almost instantly. As soon as she turned right, she saw the TARDIS coral. Her suspicions were confirmed as she walked into the console room, removing the knife she always kept with her from her trouser pocket, “Alright, so you want to talk?” she asked the ship, sitting down on the captain’s bench, “Fine, let’s talk.”

She stared up at the center of the console as the ship hummed away, “Well, you can’t speak, so I’ll do the talking for you,” she said, “I don’t think I need to remind you that I can kill you, and I will kill him. I can do it faster than you imagine.”

The ship’s humming ceased, and the two sat in silence, “I warned you not to try anything funny, and these little nightmares? I’m afraid they fit under the category of ‘anything funny.’”

Rose laughed at the ship as she stood up, and ran her fingers over the buttons and levers of the console, “Oh, for a ship so smart, you’re not the greatest at making decisions, are you?” she purred tauntingly, “You’re going to get yourself killed. There’s no use trying to delay the inevitable. Your mad man is going to die. I know you can see the timelines. You can see all of it! You can see every second of how it’s going to go down, can’t you?! CAN’T YOU?!”

Her tone grew from a soft taunt to an enraged yell as she spoke, slamming the ship with the worst of her verbal abuse, dangling the Doctor’s death right in front of her as she spoke. Then, she softened her voice, and cracked her neck before she spoke to the TARDIS again, “I suppose there’s one thing I can offer you comfort in,” she told her, “Rose Tyler gets to live. As soon as I’ve finished my task, Kovarian is letting her go. We only needed him dead. In truth, no one else was supposed to die, but they messed up my design, and maybe one day I’ll be sorry for the things I did, but for now I’ve got a mission, and I don’t feel anything for those extra deaths. Right now, I wouldn’t feel anything for yours, either, so don’t push me again, or you will die. I hope we’re clear.”

The ship began to hum again quietly, a hum of what Rose could almost call resignation. The ganger smiled, “Thank you, now, I have another manner of business,” she confessed, spinning herself around so that she was now facing the corridor from which she came, “As lovely as this knife is, it’s not the most effective of weapons, not for long distance defense, so… I need you to point to the location on this ship where the Doctor keeps all the weapons.”

Another brief moment of silence filled the air in the console room, and Rose laughed, “Don’t lie to me,” she hissed, “I’ve warned you twice now.”

The ship hummed another resignation hum, and Rose heard a door open in the corridor, “Thank you,” she sing-songed before rushing down the hallway, and into the second door on the right, which was open wide, allowing her easy access to the TARDIS’s weaponry. 

As she walked in, she observed shelf after shelf covered in bins full of various things. Using Rose’s memories, she recognized it as the room where she’d gone to retrieve the tools seconds before she was kidnapped by Madame Kovarian’s men. “Looks like it’s not just his kind of tools in here,” Rose murmured to herself as she searched through the bins for a gun. 

She was fairly certain the TARDIS had taken her threats seriously, and had little doubt that this was where the weapons were, but she was still having trouble finding them. “Come on,” she said out loud, “Show them to me.”

A light came on a few feet ahead of her, and when her eyes followed its beam, they landed on a bin full of what at first appeared to be just more tools. When she leaned over it, however, she found the bin contained one of many guns her assassin brain had been designed to know about and use. It was a black gun, and fairly small. It could contain no more than twelve bullets at one time. That was no use. She couldn’t go around carrying bullets. That seemed useless.

She dug further, and found a slightly futuristic looking gun with ornate designs covering its barrel, and a silver trigger. This gun she knew to have some sort of recycling mechanism where it created its own bullets. It was the border between the present and the future. It had a modern design, but its function was a bit too twenty third century. It was perfect for what she needed, and it wasn’t too large, either. She could easily hide the gun in a big enough pocket, or a belt… And she was an assassin after all.

The blonde wasn’t quite sure what she’d use it for. She figured she could use a form of self defense on their travels as she’d told the TARDIS, since she was stuck following the time lord everywhere until she was finally given the order to kill him. 

That was only one reason for it, though. The other was so she could get rid of her bloodlust quickly, easily, and from a distance. If she could just whip out a weapon, and kill a target—assuming she could get away with it—life would be a lot easier. 

She smiled, and placed the small weapon in her pocket as she headed back out into the hall, and found her way back to the Doctor’s bedroom.

Rose opened the door with caution, and checked to make sure he was still sleeping as she crept back inside, and closed the door as carefully as she’d opened it. Her efforts weren’t enough. 

The time lord stirred in his bed, and she watched as he blinked his eyes open, and looked right at her. “What are you doing up?” he asked sleepily. 

She feigned a smile, and crawled back into the bed, planting a kiss on his forehead before she laid herself down beside him, “Just a nightmare, don’t worry,” she told him, “I’m fine now.”

He sighed, and propped himself up on his hand, “This is the second time you’ve woken up in the middle of the night, Rose,” he reminded her, “Are you alright?”

Rose gave him a small nod, “I’m fine,” she whispered softly, “I can handle a little bad dream, Doctor. I’m tougher than I look.”

“I never doubted that,” he said with a grin, “But I don’t want to see you suffer, especially not if I can do something about it. What are your nightmares about?”

She shook her head, “Can’t tell you,” she replied truthfully. He’d instantly know her secret if he found out the content of her nightmares.

“Ah, but remember Cinderella, Rose? The cute Disney movie from 1950? If you tell me, it won’t come true.”

“Oh, that’s just not fair.”

He snickered, and caressed her cheek with his other hand, “Life’s not fair, Rose Tyler,” he teased, pressing a gentle kiss to her lips. 

Rose nearly rolled her eyes, but she responded to the kiss, and reached her hand up to run her fingers through his hair. She couldn’t even lie anymore. She truly did enjoy kissing him. It had the added bonus of causing the real Rose pain, and that only made it more satisfying. She allowed him to roll on top of her, tangling the blue sheets around their bodies as he deepened their kiss. 

She kissed him back intensely, wondering if this was going to go somewhere. Was this going where the night in the library had come to a grinding halt? She couldn’t tell. As of yet, his hands were staying up near her arms, and one of them had risen to grab hold of her hand. His fingers attempted to part hers, and interlace them, but she refused him that access, instead taking her hand, and letting it drift further down his body.

As her hand reached his bum, he pulled away, and that was all she needed to know that he wasn’t taking this anywhere beyond a passionate kiss. Disappointed, she looked away from him, and sighed, “You always gonna tease me like this?” she asked. 

He laughed nervously, and brushed a piece of her hair off of her face, “Suppose so, yeah,” he replied cheekily, then he paused, “Maybe one day, Rose,” he added, tracing circles in her arm, “When the time is right. I don’t want it to just be… all… la dee dah with you.”

She laughed, “Alright, fair enough, but…” she started.

“But…?”

“I sure as hell don’t mind all the kissing.”

“Yeah?”

“Yeah.”

“Think I’ll do it again, then.”

“Think you should, yeah.”

He grinned, then he leaned down, and kissed her again more softly than he had before. Rose buried her fingers in his hair once again, more harshly than she had before, hoping he wouldn’t notice the difference. 

After another five minutes of snogging, and several position shifts, Rose pulled away from the Doctor, and leaned her head on her pillow, finding herself growing tired again. She yawned audibly, “I think I’m getting tired again,” she confessed. 

It was true, she was growing increasingly tired as time went on, but a good part of why she’d pulled away was out of boredom. His kissing skills could only keep her occupied for so long. She wondered how the real Rose found this entertaining—oh wait, she hadn’t had the chance. Rose had been kidnapped before they had ever had the chance to share a kiss between them—the closest memory of it that the ganger had access to was the time she’d been possessed on New Earth.

The Doctor’s eyes shifted between hers, and he grinned a grin that made the real Rose’s heart melt, “Me too,” he said softly, leaning forward to press a kiss to her forehead, “Goodnight, Rose.”

“Night, Doctor,” she replied, turning herself away from him so he couldn’t see the look on her face. She could feel her bloodlust rising again. She wasn’t sure why. Kissing usually provided an excellent distraction, but it hadn’t seemed to work this time. She closed her eyes and envisioned all of the ways she would kill him, since that had worked to prevent it before.

Rose imagined running him through with the knife, shooting him execution style with the gun, him getting electrocuted by one of the Cybermen they’d just encountered, but none of them seemed to make the bloodlust disappear. She clenched the sheets tightly in her fingers, and breathed in deeply, but quietly. Any sign of stress displayed by Rose automatically meant that the Doctor would start talking to her about it, and try to comfort her. She couldn’t imagine anything less appealing in that moment. 

The ganger’s heart was pounding so hard she was certain the time lord falling asleep beside her could feel it. She could only hope that he couldn’t, and that the sensation was just a hallucination of sorts. “Fight it,” she whispered to herself, “Come on, fight it.”

“What was that?” the Doctor asked sleepily from behind her, his hand appearing on her shoulder a second later. 

She tilted her head towards him, only able to see him out of the corner of her eye, “Nothing,” she lied, “Just thinking out loud.”

The Doctor’s hand affectionately squeezed her shoulder before he wrapped his arm around her waist, and pulled her closer. Alarm bells went off in her head as the bloodlust continued to consume her thoughts. Though she couldn’t see the room, she was certain that if there were any light in there, it would be lined with crimson. 

Rose took in another shaky breath, and finally felt it begin to pass. She let out an audible sigh of relief, and felt the Doctor press a gentle kiss to her shoulder. This time there were no alarm bells. She was no longer on edge. The bloodlust had dissipated for now, but it was never gone for long. It would be back. Rose decided to push her fear about the subject aside, and focused on the warm temptation of sleep as she closed her eyes again, and fell back into a mercifully nightmareless slumber. 

When the ganger woke up, the Doctor was absent, and she had the bed to herself. Part of her wondered where he was—she assumed that was the real Rose ticking away in her subconscious—and another part of her had every intention of enjoying this alone time. She glanced around the room, and noticed that he’d left the door open, which likely meant that she was supposed to follow him out whenever she woke up. 

Rose sighed, and slowly sat up, debating on whether or not she wanted to see what inevitably dangerous adventure he’d had planned for the day. She decided against following him, and instead walked over to the door, checked to make sure he wasn’t anywhere near the room, and then quietly shut it again. She then made her way to his side of the bed, and tried to open the drawer in his nightstand. It wouldn’t budge. Apparently the Doctor didn’t even trust his precious Rose with whatever was inside. 

A quick search through Rose’s memories confirmed her theory, and that only made her more curious as she examined the lock on the nightstand, then frowned. There wasn’t a lock in sight. Confused, she began to check all sides of it before she gave up. It must’ve been some sort of complicated alien technology neither she nor the woman she was impersonating could understand. 

There had to be something else interesting in that room, though. She was certain of it. There must’ve been something the Doctor didn’t keep locked away from everyone. Another search through the real Rose’s memories revealed that she’d already seen virtually everything he was willing to show her, and there was nothing of vital importance. There wasn’t even anything that the ganger found interesting in general. 

She sighed, then she stood up, and walked out of the room. At least the Doctor’s spontaneous life would give her something to do. 

Rose turned right, and headed down the corridor towards the console room, where the Doctor was already jumping about flying the ship. She watched him for a moment, his face so full of life. He seemed truly happy, as if nothing could bring him down. She was certain she was going to change that. 

“Good morning, Rose Tyler,” he announced, beaming at her, “Sleep well?”

 

“Yeah,” she replied with a brief nod, “Fine. Like a baby.” 

The Doctor grinned at her as she walked towards him, “I was thinking this morning… We never did get to go to that concert in 1979,” he told her, “And we haven’t even been to a concert since I got the new face, well, unless you count me accidentally landing the TARDIS in the middle of a Led Zeppelin concert.”

Rose faked a giggle, “So, you want to take me to a concert?” she asked, “Which one?” She hoped it wouldn’t be something boring. If she had to watch some asshole play Wonderwall on a guitar, she would kill him then and there, screw Kovarian’s orders.

“What do you think about Elvis, Rose?”

“Dunno, he’s alright, I guess.”

The Doctor raised an eyebrow, “He’s an icon,” he replied defensively, “A long lasting one, too. Travel all the way to the sixty eighth century, and you can hear people singing Hound Dog across galaxies.”

The ganger smiled as she casually nodded her head and pretended like she cared, “So, Elvis, then?” she asked, putting a little more excitement into her tone. 

“Elvis it is!” he exclaimed, running over to the monitor, and entering in their destination before he resumed his work flying the ship. 

They materialized within a few seconds, and Rose slowly began to walk towards the door before she heard him clear his throat. She turned around, and nearly glared at him. In the nick of time, she raised an eyebrow instead, acting as though she were curious instead of pissed off. “What’s wrong, Doctor?” she asked. 

“Well, for starters, you’re in your pajamas, Rose,” he told her, looking her up and down, “We’re also in the fifties, ought to look the part don’t you think?”

She scoffed at him, “Oh, come on, Doctor, we don’t even bother with dressing up for the period half the time anyway,” she retorted, “And you’re one to talk! That suit can probably pass just fine, but your hair’s a bit too early twenty first century, so if anyone asks questions, don’t blame it on me.” 

He rolled his eyes, “Alright, I see your point,” he replied, “What do you say we both head into the wardrobe room, and make ourselves look a little more 1956, hmm?”

“Sounds great,” the ganger replied, flashing him one last fake smile before she dashed up the steps and headed into the corridor, rushing into the wardrobe room as soon as she saw it. She heard him come in a few seconds after her, though he headed off in another direction, presumably to do something about the comment she’d made on his hair.

As soon as she could no longer hear him, she dived into the first rack of clothes she could find. When she noticed it was full of bright, obnoxious colors, and one too many pairs of flared jeans, she realized she was in the wrong place, and turned around to face a different rack. This one was full of long circle skirts, and button up blouses. There were also dresses as far as the eye could see, it seemed, and a lot of tight skirts Rose was certain to enjoy. There was also far too much pink.

Despite the real Rose’s inclination toward the color, the ganger despised it. She was more of a purple or a red sort of person. She walked past the pink clothing until she found a large section of it that was colored vividly red. That was more her style. 

She grinned to herself as she surfed through the clothes, not finding anything she liked until she landed on a slightly scandalous red halter top dress with a circle skirt. By the mercy of all the gods she didn’t believe in, it didn’t have some cheesy polka dot print either. What sealed the deal, though, was that the dress had pockets. Pockets she could easily conceal her gun and knife in, too. This way, if the order from Kovarian finally came in, she’d be able to just whip out either weapon and kill him in seconds. 

The ganger pulled the dress off the rack, and continued through the fifties filled section. Eventually, she landed upon a sea of leather jackets, and she smiled at the sight. This must’ve been where the previous Doctor had found his signature look. She elected to take a page from his book, and she quickly snatched one of the jackets from its hanger before she began to change out of her pajamas. 

Half an hour later, Rose appeared in the console to find the Doctor waiting for her, a nicely formed quiff in his hair. She thought he looked ridiculous, and she rolled her eyes at the thoughts streaming in from the real Rose. At least someone was happy with it. 

“Well, don’t you look nice?” she asked him, reaching up to touch his hair. Instead of its usual softness, there was now the distinct, slightly wet feeling of gel covering his hair. Rose frowned, “Maybe not your best look, then.”

“Oi!” he cried in protest, then he took in her appearance, and she almost snickered when she heard his breath hitch. The time lord was indeed checking her out. Everything from the modest amount of cleavage peeking out from the neckline of her dress, to the curls surrounding her head was being thoroughly examined by his gaze. She grinned, knowing she still had him tightly in her clutches. “You… You look nice, too,” he breathed after a moment. 

She laughed, then patted him on the shoulder, “Don’t strain yourself,” she replied, putting on a pair of red framed sunglasses as she walked out of the TARDIS door. She took in her surroundings. There were one too many brick buildings nearby for her to believe that this was anywhere near where their concert was supposed to be. She frowned, turning back towards the ship, “I thought we’d be going for the Vegas era,” she said, confusedly. 

“You are kidding, aren’t you?” the Doctor asked from somewhere relatively deep inside the ship, “You want to see Elvis, you go for the late fifties. The time before burgers. When they called him the Pelvis and he still had a waist.”

Rose peered into the ship, “What are you doing in there?” she asked, then the TARDIS doors opened all the way, and she jumped back just as the Doctor drove out of the ship on a scooter. He drove a few feet ahead, then made a turn so that he was facing her. 

“You going my way, doll?” he asked in a deep voice. 

The blonde froze, unsure of how to respond to this, and deciding to just give him a cheeky smile as she approached the scooter, “Would I go anywhere else?” she asked, flinging a leg over to the other side, and sitting down behind him as he laughed softly. 

As soon as she was securely on the scooter with her arms wrapped around his waist, he kicked off of the ground, and they sped down the street. “Where are we going?” Rose inquired. 

“Ed Sullivan TV Studios,” he replied, “Elvis did Hound Dog on one of the shows, there were loads of complaints. With a bit of luck, we’ll catch it.”

Rose rolled her eyes, “Course there were complaints, it’s the fifties, everyone was a prude back then,” she reminded him. 

He shook his head, “Not you, Rose Tyler,” he said cheekily. 

Rose was about to chastise him for his statement, when she noticed all of the British flags surrounding them, hanging in the overhead space between the buildings, “So, are we in New York, then?” 

“That’d be the city.”

Suddenly, a large, red, very London-like bus drove past them on the opposing street, and the Doctor stopped the scooter, a confused expression on his face. 

“Yeah, I’m definitely getting that New York vibe,” Rose muttered sarcastically. 

The Doctor seemed to be in denial, “No, this could still be New York,” he protested, “I mean, this looks very New York to me. Sort of Londony New York, mind.”

The blonde shook her head. He’d gotten their destination wrong yet again. They’d probably never actually see a concert at this point. His time was running out and his driving skills were terrible. 

“What are all the flags for, then?” Rose asked as they turned onto another street, “I’m assuming the only reason you’re still in denial is because you haven’t looked up.”

The Doctor brought the scooter to a stop as he looked up, and saw the rows of flags hanging over their heads, “Oh,” he groaned, “Guess it’s not New York, then.”

“Guess not.”

“Well, time to find out where we are… Maybe even when. Blimey, I can’t drive.”

“I’ve noticed.”

“What?”

“Nothing,” she sang in a higher pitch than her normal tone as they began to walk down the street. She watched as people moved about. They all seemed to be in fifties dress, though their colors were much more toned down, and neutral than the colors on Rose’s body. She gathered that he hadn’t been too far from the when, just the where. 

They both scanned the street as they walked down it, searching for some sort of information that would give away just where and when they were. They found it in the form of a middle aged man pulling an old fashioned television out from the back of a van with “Magpie’s Electricals,” printed on the side, and handing it to another man, who provided him with the currency necessary to pay for the telly before walking off. 

“There you go, sir, all wired up for the great occasion,” the middle aged man, whom Rose presumed to be Magpie announced as he closed the back doors of his van. 

“The great occasion?” the Doctor asked as they approached him, “What do you mean?”

The man seemed to be barely holding back a laugh, “Where’ve you been living, out in the colonies?” he asked, letting a small chuckle slip through, “Coronation, of course.”

“What coronation’s that, then?”

“What do you mean? The coronation.”

That’s when Rose realized what the man was talking about, “Doctor, it’s the Queen’s coronation,” she told him, “Queen Elizabeth.”

The same realization dawned on his face, and he smiled as he turned to face Magpie, “Oh! Is this 1953?” he asked curiously. 

Magpie gave him a nod, “Last time I looked,” he replied, “Time for a lovely bit of pomp and circumstance, what we do best.”

Rose rolled her eyes. One thing she found she couldn’t stand about the British was how much they loved stroking their own dicks. She nearly gagged, but then something caught her eye mid-roll. On the roof of every house on the street was a TV aerial. Rose’s memories revealed something important to her in that moment. Something that was certain to bring the inevitable danger that came with traveling alongside the Doctor. She just about groaned before she reasoned with herself that by telling him, she wouldn’t have to face what would inevitably be a boring day just waltzing about London. At least danger wasn’t boring.

“Look at all the TV aerials,” she ordered him, “Everyone’s got one. My nan said that tellies were so rare, they all had to pile into one house.” 

Magpie was the first to respond to her comment, “Not around here, love,” he told her, “Magpie’s Marvellous Tellies, only five quid a pop.”

The Doctor didn’t seem to hear either of them, he was too busy lost in his own thoughts. He had been ever since the man standing with them told him that he was in 1953. “Oh, but this is a brilliant year,” he all but squealed, “Classic! Technicolor, Everest climbed, everything off the ration,” he then turned to Rose, and added in a documentary narrator’s voice, “The nation throwing off the shadows of war and looking forward to a happier, brighter future!”

Rose didn’t have time to respond, for just a few seconds after he gave his “I love 1953,” speech, she heard a scream come from down the street, and she knew that the danger of the day had begun. 

“Someone help me, please!” a woman cried, “Ted!”

The Doctor took off running down the street, and Rose wasn’t far behind. They slowed to a halt as they watched a group of police officers lead a man with his head covered in a bag of cloth out of one of the houses, and into their black car. 

“Leave him alone!” the woman cried out again, reaching out for her husband, “He’s my husband, please!”

“What’s going on?” the Doctor asked, speaking up for the first time in the chaos. 

Suddenly, a young boy of no more than sixteen ran out of the house next door to the one the man was being taken from, “Oi, what are you doing?” he asked the officers, a worried expression forming rapidly on his face. 

One of the older officers turned himself away from his task of escorting the man into the vehicle for a moment, and faced the boy, “Police business, now get out of the way, sir,” he commanded him, not even watching long enough to see the boy step back in the direction of the Doctor and Rose. 

Rose spoke up, “Who the hell did they just take?” she asked him, “Did you know that bloke?”

“Must be Mr. Gallagher,” the boy observed as the car drove away, then he turned to face the time lord and the ganger, “It’s happening all over the place. They’re turning into monsters.”

Rose opened her mouth to ask him what sort of monsters, but was interrupted by another man leaning out the door of the house that the boy had come from, “Tommy!” he shouted, “Not another word! Get inside now!”

Tommy turned back towards them and sighed, “Sorry, I’d better do as he says,” he said to them, then he ran off into his house. 

The Doctor reached for Rose’s hand, and led her back to their moped, “Come on!” he cried as they ran, “We’ve got to find out where they’re headed.”

“Wonder what these ‘monsters,’ are,” Rose replied, finding herself genuinely curious, “He said they were turning into monsters.” If they were real, proper monsters, she’d be impressed. On her first journey with the Doctor, she’d been forced to become a dinner lady, and it had taken the fun out of seeing creatures from another world. On the second, it had just been a bunch of droids trying to kill some old timey woman. Then there was the third, where they wound up in another universe, and the monsters were made of metal. 

Just this once she wanted a living, breathing monster. One she could actually kill with the gun or the knife that she had in her dress pocket. 

“Exactly!” the Doctor cried as they approached the scooter, “All aboard!” 

Within seconds, they were off again, the Doctor’s fast, sharp turns, and all around insane driving style nearly forcing what she’d last eaten out of her stomach as they chased the police car. The Doctor accelerated further, pushing their small vehicle as fast as it could go, which wasn’t terribly fast, or the police car would likely never have evaded them. 

They turned one last time, and wound up facing a couple of men sweeping things off of the street, occasionally picking up a piece of rubbish from the hard ground. The Doctor looked about their surroundings, a bewildered look on his face as he spoke, “Lost them,” he mumbled, scratching at his head, “How’d they get away from us?”

Rose groaned as she loosened her grip on him, noticing that in the hectic chase, she’d grasped onto him like a leech, “I can’t believe that they didn’t turn back and arrest you for reckless driving,” she muttered bitterly, not even bothering to mask the ice in her voice, “Have you actually passed your test?”

The Doctor ignored her, “Men in black? Vanishing police cars? This is Churchill’s England, not Stalin’s Russia.”

Rose shrugged, “Please don’t start driving recklessly again after I suggest this,” she begged him, “But that boy said they were turning into monsters, so… We could always go and ask the neighbors.”

“That’s what I like about you, the domestic approach,” he said casually, his hands already gripping the handles of the moped as he prepared to drive back. 

“Thanks, I guess,” Rose murmured dizzily, “Hold on, that was an insult, wasn’t it?”

He didn’t answer, he merely revved the engine, and turned them around so fast, everything became a Technicolor blur around them. Rose let out an involuntary squeak, then continued holding onto him for dear life as they sped ahead into another inevitably dangerous adventure.


	17. The Idiot's Lantern: She's got a Gun

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This one is going to start out very similarly to the script, but then it's going to do a complete 180. But that's just what happens when you make Rose a ganger.

Half an hour later the Doctor’s scooter pulled up in front of the very same house that the young boy had come from. He’d told Rose he had a hunch that they knew a lot about what was going on with this mysterious London neighborhood. 

“So, what the hell are we going to say?” Rose asked with a hint of mild agitation in her voice, “Are we just gonna barge in there and be all ‘hi, we think you’ve got something to do with the shit going on in the neighborhood because your son’s super vague… nice to meet you?”

The Doctor laughed, “No, it’s like you suggested,” he replied leaning into her ear, “the domestic approach.” 

The ganger could feel the real Rose’s blush, and attempted to ignore it as they approached the mysterious boy’s house. The Doctor leaned forward, and rang the doorbell, then stepped back to be by Rose’s side. The blonde toyed with her curls as they waited, and seconds later a stocky, well dressed man with a mustache opened it, and stared at them in shock. 

“Hi,” they said in unison, staring at the man expectantly. 

“Who are you then?” the man asked. 

Rose opened her mouth, but nothing came out. She wasn’t entirely sure what the domestic approach entailed. This may have been the one time where the Doctor actually knew more than his companion about this sort of interaction. 

Thankfully, he came in clutch, “Let’s see then, judging by the look of you…” he started as he took in the man’s appearance, “Family man, nice house, decent wage, fought in the war, therefore I represent queen and country.” He held up the psychic paper, which was no doubt showing the man exactly what he wanted to see. 

The man looked a little flustered, and Rose stepped in, “Don’t mind him, he’s a bit forward,” she explained, finding her footing in the situation, “We’re just doing a little check of her Majesty’s subjects before the… big day… Do you mind if we come in?”

They barely gave him a chance to say yes before they were through the door, and inside of the family’s living room. Rose glanced around, observing that the room was very standard 1950s, complete with an ancient looking television set. Well, it was ancient looking to her, she supposed it was fairly new to this family, of whom there seemed to be only a mother, a father, and the mystery boy from earlier. At least, those were the only people present in the room. 

“Not bad,” the Doctor commented, turning to the man’s wife, “Very nice. Very well kept. I’d like to congratulate you, Mrs…”

“Connolly,” the woman replied.

“Now then, Rita, I can handle this,” her husband butted in, “This gentleman’s a proper representative. Don’t mind the wife, she rattles on a bit.”

Rose scoffed, “Perhaps she should rattle on a bit more,” she muttered under her breath, then her eyes landed on the flags that had been lain on a nearby chair, “Mr. Connolly, those are some lovely flags. Why aren’t they flying?” she asked accusingly. He’d already managed to piss her off within minutes of meeting her, she could only hope for his sake that he didn’t do so further. The man would likely not escape his encounter with her with his life if he proceeded as he was. 

The man looked at the Doctor, who gave him a firm nod, then he picked up the flags, and handed them to his wife, “There we are, Rita, get them up,” he commanded her, “I told you, queen and country.”

“I’m sorry,” Rita said softly, taking the flags from his hands, and moving to start the task. 

“Get it done,” Mr. Connolly ordered, “Do it now.”

The Doctor and Rose looked at each other, and she was unable to hide the fury in her eyes. She’d known that the time before hers was incredibly sexist, but she sure as hell didn’t have to like it. “Hold on a minute,” the Doctor protested, surprising Rose. She hadn’t expected him to speak up on the woman’s behalf.

“Like the gentleman says,” Mr. Connolly continued.

The Doctor stepped forward, “Hold on a minute,” he said again, “You’ve got hands, Mr. Connolly, two big hands. So why’s that your wife’s job?”

“Excellent question, Doctor,” Rose added, glaring at Mr. Connolly with a look she was certain could kill, “He’s perfectly capable of doing it.”

“But it’s housework,” Mr. Connolly protested, “That’s a woman’s job.”

Rose was fuming, she felt for the knife in her pocket, and rubbed at the handle to calm the bloodlust that was beginning to wash over her. With her other hand, she toyed with one of the curls in her hair, and tried to disguise the grimace on her face. She’d given Mr. Connolly enough glares for one night.

“Mr. Connolly, what gender is the queen?” the Doctor asked, interrupting the ganger’s thoughts. 

“Why, she’s a female, sir.”

“And are you suggesting the queen does the housework?”

“No, not at all.”

“Then get busy,” the Doctor ordered him, taking the flags from Rita, and handing them to her husband. Rose was ready to laugh her ass off at that point. She could only wish she’d thought to do that herself. 

“There’s a good man,” Rose said, “Now get to it!”

While Mr. Connolly set to work hanging up the flags, the Doctor and Rose took a seat on the sofa, and faced the rest of the family. “Well, now that that’s settled,” the Doctor began, “Why don’t we get introductions out of the way? I’m the Doctor, and this is Rose. And you are?”

The boy who’d told them about the monsters earlier spoke up as he sat in the seat opposite from them, “Tommy,” he replied. 

The Doctor glanced at the television, which was playing some sort of program about dinosaurs, and Rose followed his gaze. She rolled her eyes. She couldn’t wait until they arrived in an era with more entertaining television. 

“Well, Tommy have a look at this,” the Doctor said, looking at the television, “I love telly, don’t you?”

“Yeah, I think it’s brilliant,” the boy replied. 

The Doctor turned to Rose, and smiled, “Rose? Thoughts?” he asked.

“Yeah, brilliant,” she replied half heartedly. 

The Doctor didn’t seem to notice as he turned away, and shouted at Mr. Connolly to keep working before he leaned down, and looked between the other three people in the room, “Now, why don’t you tell me what’s wrong?” he asked Tommy and Rita. 

Rose was simply relieved that they were finally ditching the façade they’d entered the house under, and were getting to the interesting part. The not boring part of these inevitably dangerous adventures was underway. 

“Didn’t you say you were a doctor?” Rita asked him shyly, clearly not used to speaking up. The ganger found herself feeling sympathetic towards the woman. She’d probably been prevented from speaking by men for most of her life. Rose couldn’t imagine how frustrating that must’ve been. 

The Doctor gave her a nod, “Yes, I am,” he replied reassuringly, his eyes taking on a softer, gentler look from the bright and curious one of earlier.

“Can you help her?” Rita begged, “Oh, please, can you help her, Doctor?”

Mr. Connolly briefly stopped his work on the flags, “Now then, Rita, I don’t think the gentleman needs to know.”

The Doctor turned towards him for a moment, “Oh, the gentleman does,” he protested, turning back to Rita.

Rose leaned forward, “Maybe if you tell us what’s wrong, we can help,” she offered, saying aloud what the real Rose was thinking. 

The ganger had been expecting a lot of reactions, but the woman bursting into tears hadn’t been one of them. She wasn’t sure what to do. The real Rose seemed to want to hold the woman, to comfort her, but the ganger was fairly certain that doing so was something she was incapable of. She certainly didn’t fancy touching the woman, as sympathetic as she felt for her. “It’ll be alright,” she told her, reaching out an arm to awkwardly pat the woman on the shoulder. 

The sound of Mr. Connolly dropping the flags could be heard behind them, and Rose rolled her eyes, mentally preparing herself for whatever rant he was about to go on. “Hold on a minute,” the man muttered, “Queen and country is one thing, but this is my house! What the… What the hell am I doing? Now listen here, Doctor. You may have fancy qualifications, but what goes on under my roof is my business.”

The Doctor sighed, “A lot of people are being bundled into…” he started, but the angry man interrupted him. 

“I AM TALKING!” he shouted at the Doctor at the top of his lungs. Rose was certain the neighbors could hear him. 

“AND I’M NOT LISTENING!” the Doctor replied in the same tone of voice, “Now you, Mr. Connolly, you are staring into a deep pit of trouble if you don’t let me help. So I’m ordering you, sir, tell me what’s going on!”

Before Mr. Connolly, or anyone else in the room could respond, they heard a loud THUMP! THUMP! THUMP! From above. The faces of the family surrounding the Doctor and his companion fell in exasperation, as if they’d been caught doing something they shouldn’t, but they knew they’d be found out eventually. 

“She won’t stop,” Mr. Connolly explained shakily, “She never stops.”

Rose glanced at him confused, and stood up, “Who won’t stop, sir?” she asked curiously, “What’s that noise?”

Tommy stepped out from behind her, and turned to face the Doctor, “We started hearing stories,” he explained, “all round the place. People who’d changed, families keeping it secret because they were scared. Then the police started finding out. We don’t know how, no one does. They just turn up, come to the door, and take them, any time of the day or night.”

“Show me,” the Doctor demanded. 

The family looked at each other hesitantly, then they all nodded, and Mr. Connolly led the way up the stairs. 

“What do you think we’ll find up there?” Rose asked quietly as she and the Doctor followed the family of three, “What sort of monster just sits there?”

“That’s a good question,” he replied just as quietly, “Guess we’ll have to wait and see.”

“Great.”

The two stayed silent until they suddenly stopped in front of a locked door in the hallway, and the boy, Tommy, inserted a key into the lock, and pressed it open. “Gran?” he called out, “It’s Tommy. It’s alright, Gran, I’ve brought help.” The boy then flicked on a light as they all piled into the room, revealing one of the monsters he’d spoken of earlier. 

Rose gasped as she took in the sight of Tommy’s Gran. Her face was completely gone, it was only skin in its place. There was scarcely any evidence that it had ever been there at all, and it was incredibly disturbing to look at. “Her face,” she breathed, “It’s… gone.”

She heard the Doctor move beside her, and a few seconds later he had his sonic screwdriver out and was scanning the elderly woman’s face, “There’s scarcely an electrical impulse left,” he observed, “Almost a complete neural shut down. She’s ticking over, like her brain’s been wiped clean.”

“What are we going to do, Doctor?” Tommy asked from behind them, “We can’t even feed her.”

Suddenly, they heard the sound of someone breaking the door down, and Rose turned around in shock. They had a minute at most before whoever was trying to get inside was in the same room as them. She looked at the faces of the family. Tommy and Rita looked utterly terrified, and they held on to each other as the footsteps grew closer. Mr. Connolly on the other hand… He looked mildly upset, but there was no hint of surprise on his face. He almost looked as if he were relieved to hear that noise. 

Rose had only one theory as to why, but no time to voice it as the Doctor rushed through the rest of his investigation. “Sounds like we’ve got company,” she warned him. 

“It’s them!” Rita cried, “They’ve come for her!”

“Quickly, what was she doing before this happened?” the Doctor asked, “Where was she? Tell me! Quick!”

“She was just watching the telly!” Tommy exclaimed as the footsteps grew closer and closer, and finally, policemen burst through the door, and rushed towards his Gran.

The Doctor stepped between the old woman and the police, “Hold on a minute,” he begged them, “There are three important, brilliant, and complicated reasons why you should listen to me, one—”

He never got to finish his sentence, for the cop in front of him gave him a right hook to the face, and the Doctor collapsed to the ground. Rose merely laughed as he fell weakly to the floor, but her laughter was short lived as she watched the police cover the old woman in a blanket, and lead her away. She and the woman’s family followed them out, the family—minus Mr. Connolly—screaming at them to let her go the whole way down. 

Rose was about to follow them outside, when something in the living room caught her eye. Tendrils of red, electrical energy were reaching out from the television, caressing it as they grew larger and larger. The ganger watched in disbelief, and approached it cautiously, her hand reaching into her pocket for her gun in case she had to defend herself from the mysterious new threat. 

She vaguely heard the Doctor’s footsteps as he rushed down the stairs after the men. He must’ve woken up fairly quickly after the hit he took, since he was able to shout, “Rose, we’re going to lose them again!” before she heard the sound of their scooter whizzing down the street. She didn’t care. She was too invested in what was going on with the television. 

As soon as it began, the electrical energy ceased, and faded away with a dim crackle. Rose slowly stood up, and began to study the television. On the back, she saw a “Magpie Electricals,” sticker, like the one belonging to the man with the van she and the Doctor had seen earlier that day, and suddenly she had a sneaking suspicion that the Magpie man had everything to do with what was going on. 

If televisions were so rare, how come they were so cheap on this particular street? How come everyone had one? And how come they all bought them from one man? He had to hold all of the answers. 

Rose backed away from the television, and headed out of the Connolly’s door, ignoring the strange looks she received from the grieving family. “Nice going, Mr. Connolly,” she muttered as she passed him. She was satisfied to see his face blanch a color of white she hadn’t known existed, which confirmed her suspicion that he’d ratted out his mother-in-law.

She didn’t say anything else to them as she dashed down the street, and made an attempt to find Magpie’s Electrical shop. After about twenty minutes of searching, she came upon a shop on a street corner with that very same name on its sign, and Magpie’s van parked out in front of it. 

Grinning, Rose approached the van, and pushed open its door, hopeful that the man himself was still inside. If she had someone around to just answer her questions, that would be a lot easier than searching. 

The first thing she noticed was all of the television screens were turned on, but only static was appearing on them. He must’ve been giving a demonstration earlier, or testing to see if they were functioning. Whatever he was doing, Rose didn’t care, she only wanted to know his true motives for selling all of those televisions. 

The second thing she noticed was a very exhausted Magpie sitting on a stool at the far end of the room. He was leaning against a shelf, his eyes were half closed as if he were on the verge of taking a power nap. As soon as he noticed Rose enter, he sat straight up, and his eyes met hers, “Oh, I’m sorry, Miss,” he said politely, “I’m afraid you’re too late. I was just about to lock the door.”

She shrugged, and twirled a piece of her hair in her fingers, “Well, I wanted to buy a telly,” she replied plainly. 

“Come back tomorrow, please,” Magpie replied exasperatedly, “I have to close.”

Rose cocked her head to the side, and reached a hand into her pocket, fingers wrapping around the gun once again. If he didn’t respond to a normal conversation, she’d have to use force. She was perfectly content with that, “But, sir, won’t you be closed tomorrow?” she asked innocently, taking a few steps towards him. 

“What?”

“For the big day? The coronation? Some Brit you are.”

“Yes, yes of course, the big day,” he muttered, “I’m sure you’ll find somewhere to watch it. Please go.”

Rose leaned against a table, and picked at her nails, “Seems to me… half of London’s got a television,” she stated, “It’s like you’re just… Giving them away… I’m curious as to why…”

Magpie looked up at her nervously, and she could tell that whatever he was hiding was on the tip of his tongue, but there was still something else keeping him from telling her his secret. Something he feared more than anything. “I have my reasons,” he replied. 

“And what are they?” Rose asked, pulling out the gun, and hiding it behind her back. 

Suddenly, one of the televisions turned on, and a woman appeared on the screen, “Hungry!” she cried, “Hungry!” 

Rose’s fingers cocked the gun behind her, and switched off the safety, covering up the noises with two well placed coughs, “What’s that?” she asked. 

Magpie looked more nervous than ever, “It’s one of those modern programs,” he lied, “Now, I really think you should leave, right now!”

The blonde shook her head, her patience wearing thin with the man, “Not until you’ve answered me,” she said sternly, walking even closer to him, “How come your televisions are so cheap?”

The man before her was stumbling over his words more than ever, she could practically hear his heartbeat increasing, “It’s my patriotic duty,” he spat out, and it seemed that not even he believed his lie, “Seems only right that as many folk as possible get to watch the coronation. We may be losing the empire but we can still be proud. Twenty million people are going to be watching tomorrow. Imagine that. And twenty million people can’t be wrong, eh? So why don’t you get yourself home, and get up tomorrow bright and early for the big day?”

Rose had had enough, she whipped out the gun from behind her, and aimed it at his chest, “Alright, enough games, Magpie,” she said viciously, “I’ve seen what’s going on out there…”

He put his hands up, and shook his head rapidly, “I- I don’t know wh-what you m-mean!” he cried, “Nothing’s happening!”

The ganger laughed at him, and stared murderously into his eyes, “Oh, you’re full of shit, mate,” she breathed, feeling the bloodlust rising, and his chances of getting out of this alive falling, “Now, tell me. Ordinary people are being struck down and changed, sir, and it seems that the only new thing in their houses is… Guess what, sir? A television. Yours to be precise.”

 

Magpie sighed, still shaking from the sight before him, “I knew this would happen, I knew I’d be found out,” he said nervously. 

Rose raised an eyebrow, “So, that’s it? You’re going to come clean now?” she asked, “I’m sure. You’ve probably got a backup plan. Something’s going to come out and protect you before I can get the answer out of you… But who’s faster? My gun, or them?”

“What a smart little girl!” the woman from the television called out to Rose. 

The blonde turned the gun on the telly in shock. She couldn’t believe that the woman in the television had actually spoken to her. “Who are you? And don’t try anything funny, or I’ll shoot you, then I’ll shoot your henchman.”

The woman on the television gave her an apprehensive stare, “I’m the wire,” she explained, “And I shall gobble you up, strange child, every last morsel, and when I’ve feasted, I’ll regain corporeal body, which my fellow kind denied me.”

Rose thought for a moment, the gun still intently trained on the screen, “Sounds like your own people tried to stop you, then,” she replied, hiding a question in her answer.

“They executed me,” the wire confirmed, “But I escaped in this form and fled across the stars.”

“And now you’re trapped in the television,” Rose finished, “Fantastic.”

The wire grinned, “But not for much longer,” she told the ganger. 

“Oh, I don’t think so,” Rose replied, firing five bullets into the television screen. The wire screamed in agony, but the sound was silenced after the third shot, and the television she shot sparked violently as she fired shot after shot. Even when she was done, it continued to throw sparks into the air, and she worried for a moment that the van would catch on fire. 

She was luckier than that, though, and she quickly turned to Magpie, smoke still seeping out of the barrel of her gun as she pointed it at him once again, “Was she in any of the others?” she growled, bringing the weapon inches away from his heart. 

He didn’t say anything, and she sighed before removing the gun from his chest, and placing it against his temple. “Let’s try that again,” she hissed, “Was she in any of the others?”

“You’re mad,” he breathed, beads of sweat breaking out on his forehead.

She gave him a nod, “Yeah, just a bit …and I’m the one holding the gun, sir, do you want to risk your life over this?” she asked, suddenly getting hit with the strangest feeling that she’d seen this happen before. 

Magpie pointed to the other televisions in the room, “All of them,” he whispered, “That’s where she put them. In the other tellys.”

Rose backed away from him, and walked down the row of televisions, “All of them, you say?” she asked.

He nodded nervously, “Just do it already,” he muttered, looking down at the ground. 

Rose smiled at him, “I think I will, yeah,” she replied, firing two shots into each of the televisions. They all sparked violently, though not as wildly as the first one containing the wire had. Electrical signals danced around the room, and floated out of the doors. Rose could only assume that they were the faces of the “monsters,” returning to their bodies. In destroying the wire and her set up, she’d somehow freed them. 

As soon as she fired her last shot into the last of the televisions, she pointed it back at Magpie, “Are there anymore?” she asked, approaching him once again.

He scoffed, “You can’t threaten me,” he replied cockily, “You have to have run out of bullets by now.”

She shook her head, “No, Magpie,” she breathed, “See, this isn’t any ordinary gun, sir. It’s a bit special. And I believe I asked you a question.”

Magpie swallowed nervously, any trace of his momentary bravado disappearing in an instant as he gestured towards what looked like a miniature television on the table. Rose quickly thanked him, and fired two more shots into the small television. She watched it spark and die before she trained the gun on him for the final time. 

“Please, let me go,” he begged her, “You’ve freed me from her, now let me go.”

Rose furrowed her eyebrows together, “Oh, but why would I do that?” she asked, “You gave me so much grief in giving me your answers… You weren’t cooperative… Oh, and you were involved in a plot to kill twenty million people. Does that sound like someone who deserves to be let go, Magpie?”

He was shaking in his chair, and sweating openly as she drew closer to him, “Please…” he begged one last time. 

The ganger took in a deep breath, reveling in the feeling this was giving her. She was certain that the anticipation was better than the act itself, there was no denying it. The real Rose’s pleading for her not to do this made it all the more intense, and all the more fun for the ganger. She sighed, “You see, Magpie, I’m an assassin,” she explained, “I’m really just supposed to kill one man who fucked with time and ruined countless lives, but… Where’s the fun in that? I’ve killed others before, and I’ve certainly got no trouble killing scum like you.” 

With that, and one last scream from Magpie, Rose fired three more shots into his chest, his neck, and his head, killing him in the span of five seconds. She smirked as he slumped over, and fell to the ground.

She was quiet for a moment, feeling the bloodlust dissipate within her, and she smiled down at the dead man in front of her, “Good talk, Magpie,” she breathed, turning the safety back on her gun, and shoving it back into her pocket. 

Giving the van one last look, Rose headed back outside to find that the sun was beginning to rise on the coronation day, and she quickly dashed away from the van before anyone could see her fleeing the scene of her crime. She smiled brightly as she ran away from Magpie’s van, and ran towards the man she was supposed to be targeting. Now that she’d ended the adventure before he could solve the mystery, they could pick up and head somewhere else… Somewhere more interesting… Who knew? Maybe even the Doctor’s final resting place.


	18. The Idiot's Lantern: Where to Next?

Rose walked only a few streets down before she heard the voices of a crowd, and the sound of gates opening. She turned onto the street it was coming from to find a small crowd of no more than a few dozen people walking out of the gates, confused expressions on their faces. She stared at the scene a little more, and realized that it was actually the gate she and the Doctor had pulled up in front of on the moped earlier. 

Realization kept dawning on her as she figured out that these were the people whose faces were being taken. She took a confused step back, and was about to head back to the Connolly’s house to find the Doctor and get them out of there, when suddenly a group of policemen walked out behind the crowd of people, and the time lord walked out with them. 

He smiled when he saw her, breaking into a run, then wrapping his arms around her and spinning her around. “Hello!” she breathed as he set her down, “Miss me much?”

The Doctor laughed, “Nah, not at all,” he replied, a hint of sarcasm in his voice, “Was actually thinking about leaving you here… Finding someone else…”

Rose scoffed, “Funny,” she muttered, “Anyway, what happened? I was busy asking the other neighbors questions. You um, sped away too quickly for me to catch you.”

“I honestly don’t know…” the Doctor replied, running a hand through his hair, “One minute they were faceless, next minute I’m in there with the detective inspector,” he pointed to a man on the far side of the street, “And we’re talking and the next minute there’s this crackling noise and they’ve got their faces back. I don’t know what happened.”

The blonde smirked. She certainly knew what happened. Shooting out Magpie’s televisions must’ve done the trick as she thought it had. She almost laughed at the fact that she’d saved the day for once, and not him. It was definitive proof that the universe would get by without him. “Well, let’s just be grateful it did,” she told him, taking his hand in hers, “Why don’t we get out of here and head over to that concert we were gonna go to?”

The Doctor thought for a moment, then he looked around them, “Well, while we’re here, we could always stick around? See the coronation? Enjoy the party?”

Rose sighed, “Are you sure?” she asked, “We saved the day already, we could just… go…”

There was a sudden pause, and the Doctor looked at her as if she’d told him he had sprouted a third arm. It took her a second to realize that what she said wasn’t terribly Rose-like at all. Rose didn’t tend to rush away, that was more his thing. She gave him an awkward smile, “I just mean I was really looking forward to that concert, is all,” she said. 

The Doctor smiled back, and squeezed her hand, “Well, we could, if you’re sure,” he agreed, “But like I said, Rose Tyler, this is a great year.” He then led her over to the other side of the street where the blue moped was parked, and winked at her. 

The real Rose was blushing, and the ganger could only pray that her face was doing the same thing. It would be the perfect Rose reaction after her out of character moment. She watched as he hopped on the scooter, and she followed quickly after, wrapping her arms around his waist as they drove off down the street to an unknown destination. 

They drove around London for a while, taking in the sight of all the celebrations occurring in the city. Rose almost found herself enjoying it, and for a moment, she let herself enjoy the wind rushing through her hair as they sped down the roadways, and drove right by the procession leading the soon-to-be queen to the ceremony. The ganger was actually able to see Queen Elizabeth herself for the briefest of seconds, and she openly smiled, throwing the queen a wave as they drove by at a distance. She wasn’t quite sure if her wave was seen, and she didn’t care, she was enjoying herself. 

It had been an excellent day. She’d been able to release her bloodlust, she’d saved the world—or Britain at least—and she had Rose in her mind again. A stupid grin stayed plastered on her face as the Doctor drove them back towards the Connolly’s neighborhood. She only frowned when she realized where they were heading. 

“Hang on, what are we doing back here?” she asked, “I thought we were seeing the celebration and stuff?”

She could practically see the grin on his face, “I’m taking a page from your book,” he confessed, “The domestic approach.”

The ganger searched through Rose’s thoughts, then she smirked, “Well, that is what you like about me,” she whispered into his ear, “Amongst other things.” She giggled when she felt him shiver slightly against her, and refocused her sight on the road ahead as he made the turn onto the Connolly’s street. 

The Doctor pulled over on the side, and the two of them hopped off the moped to see a party in full swing. There were tables set up all down the block, and the smell of something baked wafted through the air. Children were out playing, and parents were scolding them. Those not watching the children were standing around in groups eating and talking. Laughter filled the air around them, everyone was happy. It was as if their earlier problems hadn’t even happened.

Rose laughed, “It’s like they’ve already forgotten,” she observed, seeing some of the formerly faceless people interacting with their neighbors as if this were just an ordinary day. 

Beside her, the time lord nodded, “Yeah,” he replied, “Whatever it was is… Gone… Picked up and left. But that’s the problem, see. If it’s gone, why’d it leave? Why’d it let them go?”

Rose’s heart raced just a little faster in her chest, and she hoped that a time lord’s senses weren’t good enough to hear her heartbeat. She shrugged, and threw him the famous Rose Tyler tongue in teeth grin, “Who knows? It’s gone, that’s all that matters,” she told him, “And it could’ve been a time agent. One of them might’ve gotten it. Wouldn’t it be funny if it were Jack? Before we met him and stuff?”

The Doctor laughed, “Oh, wouldn’t that be a laugh,” he replied, but his smile didn’t reach his eyes, and she knew he was getting suspicious. Not necessarily of her, but of what had truly happened. “I’ve just… I’ve got this feeling…”

“Your sixth sense?” Rose asked sarcastically, “Doctor, you’re no psychic.”

His eyebrows furrowed, and he gave her a slight pout, “Rose I am a little psychic,” he reminded her, “It’s no third eye but I can see timelines and such… Well, potential timelines.”

She tried not to stare at him in disbelief. If he could sense all that, how the hell could he not sense that she wasn’t herself anymore? How did he not know about her already? The last time lord in the universe, and the most unintelligent as well. “Do you see all potential timelines, Doctor?” she asked, curious to see if he’d ever seen hers. 

He shook his head, “Not all of them,” he replied, “The TARDIS can, though. Extremely psychic, that ship.”

She laughed, “Tell me about it,” she muttered under her breath. 

The Doctor raised his eyebrow, “What do you mean?” 

By some mercy, the memory came to her instantly, and she could see the real Rose working with Mickey and her mum to open the heart of the TARDIS. Then she could see Rose looking into the heart of it, and there was a beautiful singing voice before she blacked out, and woke up moments later to see him regenerate. “Remember the game station?” she asked casually, “When I saved you? Well, tried to.”

He laughed, “Yeah, I remember,” he replied, “But don’t worry, Rose, I don’t regret a minute of it. I’d do it again in a heartbeat—well, two in my case. What would that be? Heartsbeat? Heartbeats? Heart—”

“Doctor! Rose!” a voice called, interrupting the Doctor mid-babble. 

They turned around to see Tommy Connolly running up to them with a smile on his face, “Have you seen? They’re back!” he exclaimed, “They came back to us. I don’t know what you did, but thank you.”

The Doctor’s mouth opened and closed a few times before he stammered out, “Well, we- we didn’t really do… anything,” he admitted, scratching the back of his head.

Rose put a hand on his arm and tossed Tommy a charming smile, “Don’t worry about it, Tommy,” she said kindly, “We’re all just glad it’s over, aren’t we, Doctor?” She glanced up at the time lord, and he gave her a nod. 

“Of course,” he agreed, “Oh…” he stared out at something down the street, and Rose followed his gaze.

It didn’t take long for her eyes to find the god awful Mr. Connolly leaving his house with a bag in his hand. It took even less time for her to figure out why. He’d been given the boot. Served him right. She laughed a little in false shock, “Wow,” she breathed, “What the hell happened here?”

Tommy sighed, and turned to see his father leaving, “We found out that he was the one turning them in,” he muttered, “My mum said that was the final straw, and I don’t know what came over her—she’s always so quiet—but she finally told him to get out. It’s not even his house, it’s my Gran’s.” He had what almost looked like a smug look on his face, and it would’ve been, except it was severely overshadowed by sadness. 

“Are you gonna say goodbye to him?” Rose asked, pointing at the departing Mr. Connolly. 

His son shook his head, “No,” he replied tritely, then he sighed, “Good riddance.”

“Is that it then, Tommy?” the Doctor asked, “New monarch, new age, new world. No room for a man like Eddie Connolly.”

Tommy nodded, “That’s right, he deserves it,” he all but growled. 

Rose could see the angry façade slipping, and the sadness dripping through. She had no idea how he could ever possibly miss that man, but she could feel the true Rose in the back of her head begging Tommy to go to his father, begging him not to leave it like this. “Go after him, Tommy,” she told him, “He’s your dad, and he’s a right pain in the arse, but he’s your dad. Who knows? Maybe you can knock some sense into him.”

Tommy laughed, “I probably won’t be able to, but thanks,” he replied, “I guess I’ll go do that, then.”

“There’s a good lad,” the Doctor said with a grin, then they watched as Tommy gave them a wave, and ran down the street to catch up with his father. 

Rose turned to the Doctor, and smiled when she realized he was once again looking at her with the usual trusting and loving look he always gave her. What she’d done had cemented her role as Rose once again. Whatever suspicions she was certain he had, they were gone. She pressed a kiss to his cheek, giggling when a red lipstick mark stood out against his pale skin. 

The Doctor groaned, and wiped it away, “Aw come on, that’s not fair,” he whined, “I can’t exactly get even.” He pointed to his lipstick-less face, and she laughed. The Doctor in lipstick. Now that would be a sight. Perhaps she could put some on him for his funeral. She’d get a kick out of that. 

She leaned up to his ear, “I can think of a number of ways you can get even,” she whispered seductively, enjoying the visible shudder that rushed through him as her warm breath made contact with his neck. 

“Rose,” he protested, “Not in public.”

She feigned a frown, and turned to walk to the moped, humming quietly to herself as she waited for him to follow her. 

“Where are you going?” he asked. 

She grinned, and turned back to him, flipping her curls over her shoulder as she did so, “You said not in public,” she replied coyly. 

The Doctor laughed, and a faint blush rose to his cheeks as he followed her to the moped. 

Within minutes they were speeding off towards the TARDIS, and Rose was feeling thoroughly nauseous from his driving when they arrived. She swung herself off of the little scooter, and took in a deep breath, “You definitely didn’t pass your test,” she groaned. 

“Did so,” he replied, “Barely, but still. You okay?” 

She groaned again as she walked dizzily towards him, “I will be someday,” she grumbled, stopping as she felt vomit rise up in her throat. She put her finger to her lips, and choked it back down, not having any desire to actually vomit in front of him, “Never make me ride on that thing again.”

He laughed, “No promises,” he replied, offering her his arm, “So, do you want to finally attend that Elvis performance?” he asked as he put in his TARDIS key, and pushed open the doors to the ship. 

Rose held the doors open as he walked back out to bring the moped in. As soon as he was inside, she shut it, and walked straight towards the bench, plopping herself down on it, “Give me five minutes at least, and you can take me to any concert, any time, anywhere.”

The Doctor took the moped down a ramp underneath the TARDIS grating, and as he came back up, he looked at her curiously, “Anytime, anywhere, you said?” he asked. 

She gave him a nod, “Oh, yeah,” she replied, crossing her legs, “I seem to recall that we missed a concert in 1979, too, thanks to your bad driving.”

He perked up at the memory, “That’s right!” he exclaimed, “I owe you one in 1979! Oh, and you really ought to see this one Beatles concert—”

Rose stood up, and pressed a finger to his lips, “Don’t tell me, let’s keep this spontaneous,” she replied, “Aside from those first two.”

“How many concerts do you think we’ll be going to tonight?” he asked bewildered. 

His companion laughed, “I didn’t mean we’d do them all tonight, Doctor,” she replied, giving him the tongue in teeth grin, “I just mean, let’s try not to land somewhere dangerous for the next few days. Let’s go see some concerts… Have some fun…” 

The Doctor grinned at her, “Your wish is my command,” he replied, running around to the other side of the TARDIS, and immediately working to fly the ship. 

Rose began twirling a piece of her hair as she watched him bounce about the ship like he was the happiest man in the universe. He didn’t know her true motivations. The entire time they’d been talking, she’d been feeling her bloodlust rise again, and she just knew it was only a matter of time before something like what happened with Magpie happened again. If she had to be stuck waiting for orders with anyone, she was sure as hell glad it was someone with access to a time machine. With it, they could go somewhere, she could relieve her bloodlust, and they could be gone before anyone could call her out as a suspect. He wouldn’t even know what she was doing. 

She walked around to join him on his side of the console, then fell back against the railing as the ship lurched, sending them into flight, and she scowled at him, “Again with the driving!” she cried. 

“Sorry!” he shouted back as they materialized somewhere. 

Rose glanced at him, “We in the right place this time?” she asked. 

He grabbed hold of the monitor, and turned it towards him. He read it for a moment before he looked back at her, and grinned, “Yup!” he shouted, walking up to her, and holding out his hand, “Ready to go see a concert, Rose Tyler?”

She laughed, and took his hand, allowing him to lead her out into 1956 New York. 

1956 was a fun year, and certainly more entertaining than the domestic paradise they’d encountered in 1953. The concert had been fun enough, but Rose’s favorite part of that day came when she found her target. He was a rude, surly man who seemed to be twice her height, and he’d constantly shouted expletives at Rose whenever she so much as walked by him. She wasn’t sure what she’d done to piss him off, and she didn’t care. 

Midway through the show, the man had gone up to use the bathroom, and she’d grinned before giving the Doctor a chaste kiss, and following slowly behind the target. As soon as the man entered the bathrooms, she checked her surroundings to make sure no one was watching her walk in. There was no one around. The bathrooms were a little far away from Elvis, and she was fairly certain that everyone else would be busy there, not willing to take their eyes away from the spectacle on stage. 

She quietly entered the bathroom, and checked to see that no one was in there either before she positioned herself in front of the only stall with a closed door, and waited for him to exit. As she waited, she reached into her pocket, and pulled out her knife, figuring it was better to use a quieter weapon in a public place. The hallway may have been quiet a moment ago, but that didn’t mean someone wouldn’t hear it. 

The wait wasn’t over quickly enough. It felt like five hours before she finally heard the toilet flush, and the stall door open. As soon as the rude man walked out, she came at him. The knife landed in his chest before he even registered that she was there. He looked down at his chest in confusion, then he looked back up at her face, her expression stone cold as she removed the knife from his heart and watched him fall to the floor. She wiped the knife off on the back of his black jacket, and shoved it back in her pocket before she rushed back to join the Doctor. 

The time lord was laughing at the scandalized faces of some of the people in the crowd as Elvis did his infamous pelvic dance when Rose returned to the concert. She slid her hand into his and laughed along with him as they watched the scene unfold before him, “Oh, they’re such prudes,” she muttered into his ear as the volume in the room grew too loud for him to hear her otherwise. 

The Doctor laughed again, “Oh, this was worth the wait,” he replied, “Worth every minute.”

She rested her chin on his shoulder, “I take it you’re having a good time, then?” she asked. 

The music in the room began to wind down, and Elvis was finishing the final notes of the song onstage as the crowd calmed down slightly after what they’d seen. 

“Oh, yes,” the Doctor breathed, “I’m excellent, but you… You missed the beginning of the pelvis action! It was going on for a whole minute before you came out.”

“Really?” she asked, watching as the scene around them continued to wind down, “Oh, does that mean it’s over?”

He gave her a nod, “Yeah,” he replied, “We should leave before we get trampled.”

“Good idea.”

The two of them then made their swift exit from Ed Sullivan TV Studios, and headed straight for the TARDIS. The Doctor pulled her along as they ran down the street towards the ship, and he hurriedly opened the door, “Now off to 1979!” he shouted excitedly. 

Rose walked in behind him, and closed the doors to the TARDIS just as the sound of sirens filled her ears. A look of smug satisfaction crossed her face. They’d never find their murderer. They’d have a cold case. Just another file in the office. That’s all that Mr. Asshole would ever be. 

“Can’t wait!” she told the Doctor, “But do I have to change, though? I quite like this dress.”

He looked her up and down, “I quite like it, too,” he replied with a wink. 

“Doctor, are you flirting with me?” she asked in mock disbelief.

The time lord walked over to her side of the console room, “I think I might be,” he replied, “Why? Thought you liked flirting with me. Didn’t you want to get even?”

Rose laughed, “Oh, yes,” she replied, reaching forward, and gripping his tie before pulling him towards her, and kissing him senseless. She felt one of his hands reach into the space between her Jacket and her waist, and cup her back, pulling her against him as his other hand buried itself in her curls. 

She moaned into the kiss, then she felt him break away, only to begin pressing kisses down the side of her neck. If she were to say that what he was doing wasn’t incredibly hot, she would be lying. When the Doctor’s lips closed around one spot on her neck, and sucked, she was pretty close to considering letting him go and telling Kovarian to fuck off and forget about the mission. As he pulled away, she immediately reunited her lips with his, and she slowly backed up until she was up against the bench.

He gently pressed her down onto it, and she lay back, giving him just enough room to climb on with her. The time lord didn’t hesitate to join her on the bench, his legs on either side of her as he laid her head down onto the seat, and kissed her again passionately. Another moan escaped her as he deepened the kiss, and one of his legs wound up between hers, gently nudging them apart. 

The ganger felt the pocket of her skirt containing her weapons swaying off of the edge of the bench, and she hoped that he wouldn’t notice the faint sound of metal on metal jostling around. Thankfully, he hadn’t noticed. The Doctor was too busy ruining her lipstick. She wasn’t sure how long she could risk him noticing the weapons, however, and she broke away from the kiss. A distant hint of pain from the real Rose echoed in the back of her mind, and she fought back a smile.

A confused look appeared on the Doctor’s face, but that was ignored when Rose saw the red smudges all over his mouth and the area surrounding it. “Oh my god,” she breathed, feeling a fit of laughter coming on, “Your face! It’s everywhere!”

He scoffed, “Well, you can talk!” he cried, “Thanks to me, it’s all over your neck, too, and your collarbone.”

Rose rolled her eyes, “Do you think we’re even now?” she asked. 

The Doctor shook his head, “First you got it all over me, then we got it all over each other,” he explained, “You’re still ahead.”

The ganger shrugged, “Fine by me,” she replied, tugging on his tie once again, and reuniting their lips. As they kissed, she worked to untie his tie, surprised that he was actually letting her. Aside from the first night they’d spent together, he usually stopped her before she started to touch him or strip him of his clothing. She must’ve been pulling a really convincing Rose act. She was beginning to feel like one of those spies in the movies who pretended to love agents of the enemy country in order to get information, though in this case, she was just trying to stay around him until she could finally kill him. 

She threw the tie on the floor beside them as soon as she was done, and continued kissing him, trying to remember why she’d stopped in the first place. She vaguely remembered being worried about the gun and the knife, but her desire to keep kissing him, keep bringing the actual Rose pain before the time lord inevitably backed down overpowered her concern for him discovering her weapons. After all, they’d stayed in her pocket this long. 

The Doctor moaned into their kiss as she began unbuttoning the top buttons of his shirt, her warm fingers brushing over his bare skin as she did so. She took that as a sign to keep going, only stopping to undo the buttons on his suit jacket to give herself access to the final buttons. Once the suit jacket buttons were undone, he broke away from the kiss for a moment to remove his trench coat and his jacket. The fact that he didn’t remove his shirt didn’t go unnoticed, and she had a feeling that he wasn’t going to let them get much further. 

To her surprise, though, the time lord didn’t complain as she slid her hands around his waist, and up his back underneath the unbuttoned shirt. He simply resumed kissing her. Rose sure as hell wasn’t complaining. All she could do was wonder why one of the worst men in the universe was such a good kisser. 

A moment later he surprised her again when he began to work her leather jacket off of her shoulders, and she briefly sat the two of them up to help him in the act. The jacket was tossed aside, and they resumed their original position on the bench. Rose kicked off her heels as her hands found his shoulders, and began to take hold of the fabric of his shirt, and slide it off of his shoulders, and she was about to succeed, when suddenly the TARDIS emitted an alarm sound from the console, and the Doctor pulled away from her. She let out a groan as he got up off of the bench, and ran over to the monitor. 

“Sorry,” he muttered to his ship, flipping a few switches, and pressing a button or two before the noise ceased, and they were once again left with the pleasant humming sound she usually made. 

“What was all that about?” Rose asked, standing up from the bench, and walking up to stand by his side, still trying not to laugh at his lipstick stained face. 

He laughed, “Well, before we did all that,” he explained, gesturing to the bench, where the few clothes they had managed to remove were strewn about, “I had started to set a course to 1979, and then you distracted me, so the TARDIS set off an alarm to remind me that I wasn’t done.”

She scoffed, “Yeah, I distracted you,” she said sarcastically. 

“I’m not the one who pulled on my clothes, said ‘oh, yes’ and started kissing me,” he retorted, “Though I’m fairly certain that’s happened before. I was a bit of a flirt in my eighth incarnation.”

Rose shook her head, “I wasn’t the one who started flirting,” she reminded him. 

“I wasn’t the one who started talking about the sexy dress.”

“You think it’s sexy?”

“Yeah, for a human.”

“Shut up.”

He giggled, “So, 1979… Still want to go?” he asked. 

Rose thought for a moment, then upon feeling her desire to kill seeping its way back into the forefront of her thoughts, she gave him a firm nod, “Yes,” she replied, “But we’re going to need to wash our faces off first.” 

The Doctor raised an eyebrow, then he remembered, “Oh,” he reached up, and swiped his thumb over his lips, wincing slightly when he saw the red, “Blimey.”

The ganger snickered, then she walked over to the bench, and grabbed a hold of her shoes and her jacket, “I’m gonna go wash up,” she told him, “I’ll get even with you again later.”

She heard another giggle as she headed to her bedroom, and wiped off all of the extra lipstick in the bathroom sink. She frowned when she spotted the hickey he’d given her in her mirror, then she smiled when she felt a twinge of pain from the true Rose. “Sorry, Rosie,” she muttered to her reflection, “It’s not my fault, though. He’s a brilliant kisser, I can’t resist.” Another sense of pure solemnity washed over the connection she had with the woman she was impersonating, and she sighed, “At least you get out of this alive, Rose. Think about that. You’re going to live. He’s the only one who has to die. Well, him, and whoever bothers me at the wrong moment. Madame Kovarian’s a brilliant woman, but even she couldn’t engineer an assassin that could only kill one target.”

The real Rose’s pain simmered down slightly, and the ganger could feel her giving up her sense of hope. “Well, that was a good chat,” she muttered, “Now, I’m going to go enjoy myself—or rather, I’ll try to—before I have to kill your boyfriend.” 

With that, the ganger pulled her lipstick from its place in her weaponless pocket, and reapplied it before she headed back out into the console room, and prepared to go on another inevitably dangerous adventure with the man she was born to kill.


	19. The Impossible Planet: K Three Seven Gen Five

Altogether, Rose committed five murders throughout time, one occurring after a Beatles concert in 1967, one occurring at a concert in Las Vegas in 1986, and the next two occurring at a speakeasy in 1926 Chicago while watching a jazz band perform, and in 1993 at a Nirvana concert. There hadn't been anyone worth killing in 1979. She felt fairly content with what she'd done, and for the first time since she'd been brought to life and been forced to follow the Doctor, she was happy.

The Doctor had certainly noticed she was happy. He'd point it out every time she smiled or laughed, and it made her want to smile and laugh a lot less. Still she did it. She had to keep up her Rose charade. If she lost his trust, the mission was over.

After 1993, Rose had grown tired of concerts, even though she spent most of the time she was supposed to be watching them killing people. She was still tired of them. One day after 1993, the Doctor was ready to take them to a 2012 concert for some band she and Rose had never even heard of. It didn't exist yet for them, but the Doctor was overjoyed at the opportunity to show her.

"Doctor, I think I've had enough concerts," Rose protested as he danced about the console.

The time lord looked up at her, a disappointed expression on his face, "Oh, but I had so many more I wanted to show you…" he muttered, a subtle pout forming on his lips, "Are you sure you're done?"

She nodded, "Yeah, for now at least," she replied, "Why don't we go see the universe today? I think I've had enough Earth for a month."

The Doctor grinned, "Can't protest adventure, can I?" he asked, then he dashed over to the monitor, "And what's more adventurous than not knowing where you're landing?" With that said, he flipped, and pulled on a lever, and the TARDIS was flying through time and space.

Rose clung to a nearby railing as the ship rocked about the time vortex, seeming even more violent than usual. For once, she suspected that the ship's uneasy flight had nothing to do with her as they materialized somewhere, and the ship's hums remained in an anxious state. She glanced up at the console with her eyebrows furrowed in confusion, but the worried hums had begun to dissipate.

"Doctor, is everything alright?" she asked, wondering if the time lord knew what the unease meant.

The Doctor walked around the console, looking it up and down, and placing a hand on the centerpiece, "What's the matter with you?" he whispered, then he took a step back, and shrugged, "She'll be fine. Nothing major. Probably just landed somewhere she doesn't like. She absolutely hates 1231. Doesn't like the entire country of Australia either."

"What does the TARDIS have against Australia?"

"Bugs."

"Oh…" Rose breathed as they walked towards the TARDIS doors, "Wait, one of the most powerful ships in the universe is afraid of bugs?"

"Are you judging my TARDIS, Rose?"

"No," she lied as they opened the doors, and stepped out into the cramped space they'd landed in. The room had white walls, and there were various boxes and storage units scattered throughout the small space. On either side of the room were yellow doors with numbers on them, and a sort of wheel that one would have to spin in order to open them. Over all of this, though, the one thing that stood out was the incredibly loud sound of wind howling outside of whatever building they were in. It seemed a marvel that the walls would remain standing.

The Doctor looked around as well, an uncertain look in his eyes, "I don't know what's wrong, though," he told Rose, "She's sort of queasy. Indigestion, like she didn't want to land."

"Well, it's like you said," Rose replied, "Maybe she landed somewhere she hates."

"Maybe," the time lord murmured, then he took a few steps forward, and Rose followed, "I think we've landed in some sort of cupboard," he observed, reaching for the wheel on one of the doors, and spinning it, "Here we go."

_"OPEN DOOR FIFTEEN_ , _"_ a computerized voice announced.

Rose flinched in shock, "Well, that's interesting," she commented as the door swung open, and they stepped through it.

The Doctor smiled, the uncertainty in his eyes becoming knowing familiarity, "Must be some sort of base," he said, "Moon base, sea base, they build these things out of kits."

_"CLOSE DOOR FIFTEEN,"_ the computer announced as the Doctor shut the door behind them.

As the door closed, Rose noticed the sound of the storm she'd heard when they first walked out of the TARDIS getting louder and louder by the minute. She frowned, "Glad we're indoors," she confessed as the Doctor walked forward, and opened another door, "Sounds like one hell of a storm out there."

_"OPEN DOOR SIXTEEN."_

The Doctor nodded, "Sounds like it, yeah," he replied, "What do you think? Hurricane? Microburst?"

Rose laughed as they walked through the new room, which looked the same as the last one, and walked across it to another door. "Are we going to just walk through doors all day, Doctor?" she asked, finding this adventure to be rather boring already.

The time lord shook his head, "No, no, just until we find out what this is," he told her, "And maybe find out why the TARDIS is so uneasy."

_"OPEN DOOR SEVENTEEN."_

They walked into a new room, which was decorated with tables and chairs, and more numbers on the walls. On the far side of the room there was a pole of sorts with black writing on it. From this distance, Rose couldn't decipher what it said, but her attention was quickly pulled away from the writing as the Doctor tugged on her hand, and looked around.

"It's a sanctuary base!" he announced excitedly, taking in the sight of the room Door 17 had revealed.

_"CLOSE DOOR SEVENTEEN."_

"Deep space exploration, we've gone way out," he continued, "And listen to that!" he paused, and the two listened over the sound of the storm outside to the quiet hum of a drill coming from beneath them, "Someone's drilling."

Rose laughed, and glanced over at the pole she'd spotted when they'd first walked in, and let go of his hand to walk closer to it, "Welcome to hell," she read aloud, and a frown appeared on her face. Just where the hell had he taken them? To hell, apparently.

"Oh, it's not that bad," the Doctor protested, walking over to join her.

She pointed to the wall, "No, over there," she told him, just then noticing the unreadable text beneath. It appeared to be some sort of alien language, and yet the TARDIS wasn't translating it for her. The ship always translated words. Every word. The sole exception she'd ever heard of was the Doctor's own language. Yet she could see the words before her, and not understand a single one.

"Hold on, what does that say?" the Doctor asked as he noticed the exact same letters, "That's weird, it won't translate."

He looked down at it in confusion, and Rose sighed, "Doesn't the TARDIS translate everything?" she asked, "Writing too?"

"Exactly," the Doctor replied, turning around to face his companion, "If that's not working, then that means that this writing is old… Very old… Impossibly old… We should find out who's in charge."

Rose gave him a nod, "Good idea," she said in agreement, then she walked over to the next door, "Guess we'd better keep moving then." The sooner they found out what was happening, the sooner the not boring part of their dangerous adventure would begin, and the sooner she'd be able to forget about the bloodlust that was already rising within her.

"Sounds like a plan," the Doctor muttered as she turned the wheel to open Door 19.

_"OPEN DOOR 19."_

As soon as the door opened, the two of them were greeted by the sight of humanoid aliens with bald heads, and tentacles of sorts coming from where their mouths and noses should've been. Rose almost gasped in shock, and found herself taking a step back behind the Doctor. If those things were hostile, at least they'd kill him first that way.

"Oh, right," the Doctor said nervously as his eyes landed on the mysterious creatures, "Hello, sorry, I was just, er… saying nice base."

The aliens directly in front of them didn't seem to hear him, or if they did, they didn't reply to what he'd said, instead, they said, "We must feed," in a chorus of voices that sent chills down the ganger's spine.

"You've got to what, now?" She asked, feeling the terror rise within her as she and the Doctor took a step back at the same time.

"We must feed," they repeated, advancing towards them as they stepped back.

"Shit, they're talking about us," Rose muttered as they continued backing as far away from the incoming tentacled aliens as possible. The ganger picked up a chair, ready to fight them off as they continued their steps towards them. Beside her, she heard the Doctor retrieve his sonic screwdriver from his pocket, and he pointed it at them as he stood protectively in front of her.

"We must feed," the strange aliens continued to say, "We must feed… We must feed… We must feed…"

Within a minute, the Doctor and Rose were backed into a wall, and Rose knew their weapons wouldn't last them very long in the fight that was to come. She wouldn't go down without a fight, however, and she raised the chair high above her head, and began to smash it down on one of the mystery aliens, when suddenly it tapped the white ball it was holding, and said, "… You, if you are hungry."

Rose stopped her chair mid-smash, and lowered it by her waist as she processed what the alien had said. She was simply relieved it wasn't, "We must feed," and wasn't terribly focused on the fact that what he'd said had simply finished his sentence.

"Sorry?" the Doctor and Rose asked at the same time, both equally confused as to what the hell had just happened.

"We apologize," a singular alien said, "Electromagnetics have interfered with our systems. Would you like some refreshment?"

"What the hell?" Rose breathed, "What the hell do you mean, some refreshments? You just tried to kill us?"

"I don't think that was their intention, Rose," the Doctor said softly, putting his sonic back in his pocket.

Rose was too livid to care. The threat to her life, though no longer present, had set her on edge. The bloodlust within her had reached its peak, and if someone wasn't dead in the next five minutes, her identity would reveal itself to him. Vision lined with red, she prepared to raise the chair again to strike down the aliens before her, when suddenly another door opened across the room from them.

_"OPEN DOOR EIGHTEEN."_

At that moment, three new people walked in. This time they were human, and Rose breathed a sigh of relief as the red lining her vision began to fade. She could've kissed everyone who walked into the room with them for providing an excellent distraction from her drive to kill. Killing just then would've been fatal to Madame Kovarian's plan.

"What the hell?" one of the humans, a middle aged man with a radio in one hand, and the other hand resting on a gun that had been slung over his neck with some sort of strap, "How did—?" The aliens made way for the man as he walked right up to the Doctor and the ganger, staring at them as if they couldn't possibly exist. As if they were ghosts. He raised his wrist to his mouth, and spoke into some sort of communicator device, "Captain, you're not gonna believe this," he said, "We've got people. Out of nowhere, I mean… Real people. I mean, two living people, just standing here right in front of me."

"Don't be stupid, that's impossible," a voice replied.

"I suggest telling them that," the man standing before them said.

Rose scoffed, "Oh, please, we can't be the first humans you've ever seen here," she muttered, "You're a base, right? That's what he keeps saying anyway, so you must get visitors every now and then. It can't be impossible."

The man looked at her in disbelief, still blinking as if she were going to disappear at any second, "You're telling me you don't know where you are?" he asked incredulously.

The Doctor shot the man a grin, "No idea," he replied gleefully, "More fun that way."

Suddenly, another voice came over the man's radio, this time a woman's, "Stand by, everyone," she announced, "Buckle down, we have incoming. And it's a big one. Quake point five on its way."

The man in front of them gestured to the door he'd just come through, and along with the others he'd walked through the door with and the ood, he led the Doctor and Rose toward it, "Through here, now," he told them, and they were swift to obey, "Quickly, come on! Move it!"

They dashed through the door as a series of banging noises occurred overhead, several let off steam as they passed, causing Rose to shriek and run faster. The Doctor, the humans, and the aliens weren't far behind.

"Move it!" the human they'd met in the _Welcome to Hell_ room cried, "Come on! Keep moving!"

Within minutes they'd reached a new room, one that looked different from the others they'd been through, and the corridor they'd just run down. In its center was something resembling the TARDIS console, with several buttons, switches, and levers scattered over its surface. However, instead of a tall, coral structure running through the middle of it, there was a screen above them displaying statistics and other things Rose didn't particularly care for. She was too busy catching her breath from all the running they'd just done, and wondering what had caused them to need to run here with such urgency.

From the center of the room, a man looked at them from his place in a chair, and he gaped at them in awe, "Oh, my god, you meant it," he told the man who led them there.

"People!" a girl exclaimed from the other side of the room, walking forward from where she stood with three others, a man, a young boy and an older woman of similar age to the man that had let them there. Rose recognized her voice as that of the one who'd announced that they had a "quake point five," on the way as she spoke, "Look at that, real people!"

"Yeah, big shock, huh?" Rose asked sarcastically, "Anyway, I'm Rose, this is the Doctor, and we're real. Definitely not a hallucination."

"You sure about that?" a new voice asked, this one belonging to the boy standing near the incredibly young girl, "Come on, the oxygen must be offline! You can't be real."

The man sitting in the middle of the room sighed, and glared at the boy, "Come on, we're in the middle of an alert!" he groaned, "Danny, strap up, the quake's coming in. Impact in thirty seconds!" he looked at the Doctor and Rose, and gave them a sympathetic look, "Sorry, you two, whoever you are, just hold on tight."

Rose looked around, not spotting many options for holding on to stuff, "Hold on to what?" she asked.

"Anything, I don't care," the man replied, "Just hold on. Ood are we fixed?" he asked the aliens that had walked into the room with them.

The one at the front held up his white little globe, and replied, "Your kindness in this emergency is appreciated," it told him.

The Doctor looked up, "What's this planet called, anyway?" he asked, finally asking the question that had been itching in Rose's mind since he'd said that this was deep space exploration.

"Don't be stupid," the middle aged woman retorted, "It hasn't got a name. How could it have a name?" she paused, taking in their unknowing expressions, "You really don't know, do you?"

They didn't have time to respond. At that moment, the man who seemed to be in charge, the one they called the captain, announced, "And _impact!_ "

Not a second after they said that, the Doctor and Rose clung to nearby railings as the ground beneath them began to shake violently. The two shrank to the floor as things around them began to spark, and the lights flickered.

After a few seconds of shaking, the ground stilled, and the Doctor began to stand up, a smile on his face as he claimed, "Oh, well, that wasn't so bad," just before the ground shook violently again, and he was thrown to the ground. Rose smiled in grim satisfaction as the shaking intensified, and she feared for her safety. She wasn't entirely certain the walls around them could withstand such an intense earthquake, or whatever it was that was causing the shaking. She suspected it had something to do with the storm she'd heard earlier.

The console at the center of the room burst into flames, and Rose shrieked, causing the Doctor to rush over to her, and shield her with his body. She didn't protest. If he died defending her, then he died. Damn the mission.

Eventually, the shaking subsided, and everyone in the room looked about to see that the others were okay as they recovered from the horrific quake. The captain spoke first, "Okay, that's it," he announced, looking around the room, "Everyone alright? Speak to me, Ida."

The middle aged woman slowly stood up from her place in the room, "Yeah, yeah," she replied.

"Danny?" he asked.

"Fine," the young boy replied.

"Toby?"

"Yeah, fine," the man that had been standing next to Danny replied.

"Scooti?"

"No damage," the young girl told him.

"Jefferson?"

"Check!" shouted the man that had led them there.

"We're fine too," Rose piped up, "No need to worry about us, right?" She and the Doctor began to stand up, and she shook her head as she glared at all of the people in the room, "Just rude," she muttered as the crew moved about the room, checking various equipment.

They were still ignored as the captain worked busily at the console, eyes trained on the screen in front of him, "The surface caved in," he announced, looking up a schematic of the base, "I deflected it onto storage five through eight. We've lost them completely. Toby, go check the rocket link."

"That's not my department," Toby protested, looking bitter about the order he'd been given.

"Just do as I say, yeah?" the captain muttered, watching as Toby gave in, and walked away to do as he was told.

Ida had joined him at the console, but she was looking at something different to the captain, "Oxygen holding, internal gravity at fifty six point six…" She was saying to the crew, but Rose had stopped listening. She was once again distracted by the sound of the storm going on outside. The winds had only grown louder, and it sounded more than ever like it was about to tear the base apart.

She leaned in the Doctor's direction, "Never mind the earthquake, I can still hear the storm…" she said, then she turned to the crew, "What is that a hurricane?"

Scooti gave her the slightest shake of her head, "You'd need an atmosphere for a hurricane," she told her, "There's no air out there. It's a complete vacuum."

Rose glanced at the Doctor once again, "Then what the hell's shaking the roof?" she asked, staring up at the shaking ceiling.

"You're not joking," Ida breathed, "You really don't know…" she blinked for a moment, still unable to comprehend the situation, "Well, introductions. F Y I, as they said in the olden days, I'm Ida Scott, science officer. Zachary Cross Flane, acting captain, sir. You've met Mister Jefferson, head of Security. Danny Bartok, ethics committee."

"Not as boring as it sounds," Danny interrupted from where he was still sitting. Rose found herself fighting back a smile.

"And that man who just left?" Ida continued, sparing a glance at the door Toby had walked through, "Toby Zed, archeology. And this is Scooti Manista. Trainee Maintenance. And this? This is home." With that said, she crossed the room, and placed her hand on a lever, pulling it down.

A second later they heard a slight whirring sound as the ceiling above them began to open, allowing a soft, orange light to filter through.

"Brace yourselves," the captain warned them, "The sight of it sends some people mad."

The ceiling slowly opened to reveal the source of the orange light. Before them was a black circle surrounded by fire-like tendrils of orange and yellow light, and it was almost swirling as it took in everything around it. What looked like rocks entered the dark hole, never to be seen again, and with a stunned gasp, Rose realized exactly what she and the Doctor were seeing. The two stepped forward, looks of pure awe and horror on their faces, "That's a black hole," Rose whispered, pointing up in its direction.

"But that's impossible," the Doctor breathed, his hand reaching for hers as they stared up at the impossible sight before them. Just this once, she didn't hesitate to take it, and she wrapped her fingers over his as she held on in fear. She'd take anything for comfort, even the man she was supposed to kill. The sight of the black hole had shaken her to her core, and unlike the true Rose, the false one was very much afraid.

"I did warn you," the captain told them.

"We-We're standing under a b-black hole," Rose stammered out, "A bloody black hole!"

"In orbit," Ida said casually.

"But we can't be," the Doctor protested, not taking his eyes off of the black hole.

"You can see for yourself, we're in orbit," Ida told him.

"But we can't be," the time lord repeated, this time turning his gaze away from the hypnotic collapsed star, and staring straight at Ida.

"This lump of rock is suspended in perpetual geostationary orbit around that black hole without falling in," Ida continued, "Discuss."

Rose glared at Ida. She wasn't a big fan of the know-it-all attitude the woman seemed to be displaying. The bloodlust she'd felt when facing the Ood rose up again, and she held on tighter to the Doctor's hand as the other hand reached into her pocket to rub the handle of the knife. She needed her assassin's stressball, and she needed it now. As soon as her hand found the handle, she breathed a sigh of relief, and loosened her grip on the Doctor's hand slightly.

"You okay?" the time lord asked, looking down at his companion.

She gave him a nod, "Yeah, fine," she replied, planting a kiss on his cheek before she turned back to Ida, giving the woman a scowl as she spoke, "So, we're orbiting a black hole…" she said, then she turned back to the Doctor, "I don't know much, but I know one thing. That's bad."

"Bad doesn't cover it," the Doctor replied, "A black hole's a dead star. It collapses in on itself, in and in and in until the matter's so dense and tight it starts to pull everything else in, too. Nothing in the universe can escape it. Light, gravity, time… Everything just gets pulled inside, and crushed."

Rose scoffed, "So they can't be in orbit, then," she observed, glaring at Ida once again, "We should be pulled right in, but we're not…"

"We should be dead," the Doctor murmured.

"And yet here we are," Ida said, "Beyond the laws of physics. Welcome on board."

"But if there's no atmosphere out there, what's that?" Rose asked, referring to the loud winds of the storm she could still hear.

"Stars breaking up, gas clouds," Ida told her, "We have whole systems being torn apart above our heads, before falling into that thing." She pointed to the black hole.

"Sounds a bit worse than a storm then," she muttered.

"Just a bit," Ida replied, pulling on the lever once again, and closing the ceiling so the black hole was no longer visible. Rose breathed an audible sigh of relief. She couldn't bear to look at it for another moment. The captain had been right. She would've gone mad.

_"OPEN DOOR ONE."_

At that moment, Toby returned to the main room with a series of scrolls tucked under one of his arms, and a bitter look on his face. Clearly he was still unhappy about being asked to check the rocket link. _What a drama queen_ , Rose thought.

_"CLOSE DOOR ONE."_

"Rocket link's fine," Toby told them, setting down the scrolls on a nearby table as the captain called up a hologram in the center of the console.

The crew gathered around as the image of the black hole filled the space before them, and though it wasn't the real thing, Rose shivered slightly. She felt the Doctor's thumb gently rub over her hand, and she looked away to hide the grimace sneaking its way onto her face. She didn't see when he reached into his pocket, and pulled out his glasses, putting them on so he could better inspect the hologram.

"That's the black hole officially designated K three seven Gen five," the captain told them.

"In the scriptures of the Fallatino, this planet is called Kroptor," Ida added, "The bitter pill. And the black hole is supposed to be a mighty demon. It was tricked into devouring the planet, only to spit it out because it was poison."

Rose cleared her throat, "So it does have a name, then?" she asked, raising an eyebrow at Ida.

"Yes, it does," Ida replied, "Why?"

"Nothing,'s just, earlier you told me and the Doctor it didn't have a name," Rose retorted, "Think the exact words you used were 'It hasn't got a name. How could it have a name?'" she imitated in a higher pitched mimicry of Ida's voice.

She could feel the Doctor's eyes staring down at her, but she didn't care. She was too riled up from all that had happened. Even rubbing the knife handle didn't help at this point. "You sure you're okay?" the time lord asked.

"I'm fine, stop asking," she replied, "It's just… mad, is all."

The Doctor paused, seeming to want to question her further, but she turned and gave him a look that suggested against doing so, and he looked back up at the hologram of the black hole, "We are so far out," he observed, "Lost in the drifts of the universe. How did you even get here?"

"We flew in," the captain explained, pressing a button on the console, and the image changed to a hologram of the planet, and a sort of wave tunnel reaching out from it, like radio waves,"You see, this planet's got a gravity field. We don't know how. We have no idea. But it's kept in constant balance against the black hole. And the field extends out there as a tunnel. A distinct, gravity funnel reaching out into clear space. That's how we got in."

Rose's eyes widened, "You flew down that thing?" she asked in disbelief, "And you're still alive?"

The captain nodded, "By rights this ship should've been torn apart," he admitted, "We lost the captain, which is what put me in charge."

"You're doing a good job," Ida reassured him.

"Yeah, well, needs must."

"But if that gravity funnel collapses, there's no way out," Danny added from where he sat, holding onto the scrolls Toby had brought in.

Scooti laughed as she stood beside him, "We had fun speculating about that," she said.

"Oh yeah," Danny muttered, standing up, "That's the word," he added, lightly tapping one of the scrolls against the back of Scooti's head, "Fun."

"But that field would take phenomenal amounts of power," the Doctor protested, "I mean, not just big, but off the scale!" He looked down at the remote they used to control the hologram, "Can I…?"

Ida nodded, then grabbed it, and walked around the console to hand it to him. "Sure, help yourself," she told him.

As the Doctor fiddled away, Rose grew bored, and looked around the room. Her eyes instantly landed on one of the strange aliens that had confronted her and the Doctor in the first room they'd walked into. She still didn't know what they were called. "Excuse me," she said, turning to Danny and Scooti, "What are they?"

Danny cocked his head, "Oh, come on, where have you been living?" he asked in disbelief, "Everyone's got one."

Rose could've smacked the smug look off of his face. If it weren't for the stupid charade she had to keep up, she would have. "Well, not me, so, what are they?" she asked.

"They're the Ood," Danny replied simply.

"The Ood?"

"The Ood."

"How Ood."

"How Ood indeed," Danny said with a laugh, "But handy. They work the mine shafts. All the drilling and stuff. Supervision and maintenance. They're born for it. Basic slave race."

Rose nodded slowly, "Alright, makes sense," she replied, "I'm always out there traveling with that one," she pointed to the Doctor, "Don't pay attention to the new things much."

"I know what you mean," Scooti said, "I've been behind on everything since I came out here."

"Me too," Danny replied.

The three of them exchanged a knowing laugh, but before they could continue the conversation further, they were interrupted by the Doctor at the console, "There we go," he said excitedly, setting down the remote, allowing them to view the statistics he'd put up on the screen, "Do you see? To generate that gravity field, and the funnel, you'd need a power source with an inverted self extrapolating reflex of six to the power of six every six seconds."

Rose walked back over to the Doctor, and leaned her head on his shoulder, "That's a lot of sixes," she observed.

"And it's impossible," he replied.

"It took us nearly two years to work that out," the captain told them, staring at the Doctor incredulously.

"I'm very good," the Doctor bragged, causing Rose to roll her eyes openly.

"But that's why we're here," Ida explained, pressing a button so the hologram shifted again to show the planet, and a line coming down to the center of it,"This power source is ten miles below through solid rock. Point zero. We're drilling down to try and find it."

"It's giving off readings of over ninety stats on the Blazen scale," Zach told them. Rose briefly wondered what the hell that meant, but quickly decided that she didn't care, and she rolled her eyes at him, too.

"It could revolutionize modern science," Ida added.

"We could use it to fuel the empire," Jefferson said.

"Or start a war," the Doctor replied, removing his glasses.

The crew ignored him. "It's buried beneath us, in the darkness, waiting," Toby said, staring at the hologram intensely.

Rose almost laughed. The real Rose was laughing, too. _Drama queen,_ they both thought. "What's your job then?" the ganger asked, "Chief dramatist." She glanced up at the Doctor to find him smiling down at her, and she gave him a wink.

Toby ignored her comment, "Well, whatever it is down there is not a natural phenomena," he continued, "And this, er, planet once supported life eons ago, before the human race had even learned to walk."

The Doctor turned his gaze toward the archeologist, "I saw that lettering on the wall," he told him, "Did you do that?"

Toby nodded, "I copied it from fragments unearthed by the drilling," he confessed, "But I can't translate it."

"No, neither can I, and that's saying something."

"There was some form of civilization. They buried something. Now it's reaching out. Drawing us in."

Rose rolled her eyes for the third time, "Please, the dramatics," she muttered, "You must've been an actor before all this."

The Doctor laughed, "Oh, but Rose, isn't it brilliant?" he asked, stepping away from them, and beaming proudly at the humans living on the base, "Humans, you see a planet orbiting a black hole, when it really shouldn't be and what do you do? You head right for it. You went because it was there, brilliant. But apart from that, you should pack your bags, get back in that ship, and run for your lives."

Ida scoffed, "You can talk," she muttered, "How the hell did you get here?"

The time lord shrugged, "Oh, I've got this, um, ship, it just sort of appears," he replied, scratching the back of his head.

Rose nodded, "Yeah, we left it down the corridor in…Habitation area…?"

"Three," the Doctor finished.

"Yeah, three," she said in agreement.

The captain frowned, "Do you mean storage six?" he asked.

"It was a bit of a cupboard, yeah," the Doctor replied, "Storage six," his face fell into a look of horror, "But you said… you said… you said storage five through eight!" Without warning the Doctor ran out of the room, throwing open the door, and rushing down the corridor.

"Shit!" Rose cried, following him. Whatever had happened to the TARDIS was bad, and she had a feeling it would have a serious impact on the Doctor's plans of traveling the universe. She ran after him, having to run faster than usual as the Doctor carried on through the corridors and rooms of the base at a frenzied pace.

_"OPEN DOOR NINETEEN."_

_"CLOSE DOOR NINETEEN."_

_"OPEN DOOR SEVENTEEN."_

_"CLOSE DOOR SEVENTEEN."_

_"OPEN DOOR FIFTEEN."_

_"DOOR SIXTEEN OUT OF COMMISSION."_

The Doctor let out a shuddering breath at the computer's final announcement as he stared out the window of Door sixteen. "It can't be," he breathed, "It can't be."

Rose laid a hand on his back, "Doctor, what is it?" she asked, "What's wrong?"

"The TARDIS is gone," he said shakily, moving over so Rose could see out the window, "Look down."

She stepped forward to look out the window, and immediately she looked down, and saw that the ground beneath them had disappeared. There was nothing there but empty space. The TARDIS was gone, and they were trapped.


	20. The Impossible Planet: The First Under a Black Hole

The Doctor was still for a moment, comprehending the loss of his ship, and so was Rose. Without the TARDIS, how the hell were they supposed to escape the black hole? She had a sinking feeling that while they were there, that gravity funnel would collapse. It was just their luck. She felt as if she were going to be sick. This was one adventure that was just too dangerous.

 

She could still hear his shaky breathing beside her, and in her head she could feel the real Rose yearning to comfort him. All the human girl wanted was to reach out, and hold his hand. That’s exactly what the ganger did as soon as the thought ran through her mind. She reached out, and she held the time lord’s hand as they stared out into the abyss that the ship had fallen into. Just this once, all the ganger wanted to see was that stupid police box.

 

“Doctor, what are we gonna do?” she asked, looking at the man standing beside her. He said nothing, he just kept staring down. “Doctor, god damn it, we can’t just stand here,” she muttered, moving in between him and the window, standing closer to him than she desired to in order to get him to hear her, “If the Tardis is down there, then we’ve got to get off our asses and do something about it. Last time I checked, you didn’t fancy being stuck, so do something about it.”

 

The Doctor finally tore his eyes away from the window, and looked down at her, stunned by what she’d said. With a sigh, he leaned forward, and kissed her forehead, then he wrapped his arms around her, and held her close. Rose let him hold her for a moment, and reached up one hand to gently pat him on the back before she broke the embrace, and moved past him. “Let’s go do something about it,” she commanded him.

 

The ganger then began walking forward, and he was quick to follow as she walked calmly down the corridor they’d come down. They hurried through all of the doors, and all of the rooms they’d gone through to get there, and in minutes they were back in the control room.

 

Instantly, the time lord raced to the console, where Zack was still standing looking at a hologram. “Are you alright?” the captain asked, “What’s happened?”

 

“The ground gave away,” the Doctor explained, speaking for the first time since he’d realized his ship had fallen, “My Tardis must’ve fallen down right into the heart of the planet. But you’ve got drills headed the same way.”

 

Zach shook his head, “We can’t divert the drilling,” he told him.

 

“But I need my ship, it’s all I’ve got,” the Doctor protested, walking around to the other side of the console, “Literally, the only thing.”

 

“Doctor, we’ve only got the resources to drill one central shaft down to the power source, and that's it,” Zach explained, “No diversions, no distractions, no exceptions. Your machine is lost. All I can do is offer you a lift if we ever get to leave this place, and that is the end of it.”

 

With that said, Zach walked away, and the Doctor was left standing by Ida, who gave him a sympathetic look, “I’ll, um, put you two on the duty roster,” she told him, “We need someone in the laundry.” Then she too was gone, and the Doctor and Rose were alone.

 

They stood in silence for a moment before the Doctor crossed over to her side of the console, and spoke again, “I’ve trapped you here,” he murmured, glancing up at the ceiling.

 

Rose shrugged, trying to hide how much being trapped under a black hole both pissed her off and terrified her, “It could be worse,” she replied, not looking at him, “Don’t worry about me, though.”

 

Suddenly there was another round of shaking, and the wind seemed to pick up around them. Rose felt her heart beat a good five times faster, threatening to beat out of her chest as she prepared to hold on tightly again, but the storm subsided after a moment, and became background noise once again. “Fuck,” she breathed, “We’re under a black hole… Maybe… Maybe you should worry about me.”

 

The Doctor said nothing, he simply reached out an arm, and pulled her to him, wrapping the other arm around her back a second later as he held her tightly. The contact seemed to soothe at least the real Rose’s mind, though it did nothing for the ganger’s. She was still anxious as ever about their predicament, and it was taking every ounce of her being not to yell at him for allowing them to get stuck there.

 

“I’m sorry, Rose,” the time lord murmured, “I’m so sorry.”

 

One of his hands moved up to stroke her hair, and she pulled back a little, just enough that she was still in his arms, but far away enough that she could see his face, “Look at me,” she demanded, taking her hands, and placing them on his cheeks, “It’s not your fault, alright? And it’s not hopeless. We always find a way out, you and me,” she gave him a light-hearted laugh as she internally high fived herself for a fantastic performance, “And sure, I’m scared, but… hell… We’re under a black hole. How many people get to say that?”

 

“Not many,” he replied, then he leaned forward, and kissed her. Rose welcomed the distraction, and parted her lips to make room for his. The Doctor’s hands made their way down to her waist, and pulled her against him as he kissed her softly. After a moment, he broke away, and giggled.

 

“What’s so funny?” Rose asked, looking curiously between his eyes.

 

The Doctor scratched the back of his head, “I think we may be the first people to kiss under a black hole,” he told her.

 

Rose raised her eyebrows, “Really?” she asked in disbelief, “You don’t think any of that lot…?”

 

“No, didn’t notice any romantic entanglements between them,” he replied, “So therefore, that make us the first.” A satisfied smile appeared on his face, and he giggled again as he looked up at the ceiling where they’d seen the black hole earlier.

 

The ganger shook her head as he looked back down at her, but she smiled at him, “Well, then, Doctor,” she said cheekily, “Perhaps you’d like to repeat history.” She then pulled him to her, and kissed him again, this time more passionate than the last. At least he made a good distraction from the horrific situation they’d gotten themselves into.

 

Rose moved forward, and pressed the Doctor into the console, causing him to have to sit on it in order to make room for her as she advanced. She gently nudged one of her legs between his, and they parted to make room for her as she pressed herself against him and deepened the kiss. The Doctor let out another giggle against her lips as they made out like teenagers against the control room console. One of Rose’s hands made its way down, and she gently squeezed the Doctor’s ass, enjoying the deep moan that came from his throat immediately after.

 

The time lord wasn’t one to be out done, and as his hand tightened its grip on her hair, one of his hands reached up near the edge of her breast as she briefly broke the kiss in order to breathe, causing her breath to hitch at how utterly close his hand was to her chest. “First grope under a black hole too,” she muttered, kissing him again.

 

His hand didn’t move from its close position, and she broke the kiss again, resting her forehead against his, “It’s okay,” she told him, “You can do it, no one’s here, they won’t see.” She then resumed kissing him, and with one of her hands, she reached back and found his, bringing it forward so it was finally cupping her left breast, and her heart raced as she removed her hand, and his stayed there. She moaned into the kiss when his thumb glided over her nipple. Even through those layers of clothing, her jacket and her bra, it still felt incredible, and she wasn’t one to be out done either.

 

The ganger broke away from his lips, and began to trail kisses down his jaw line and onto his neck, unsure of where she would go with this until she remembered what he’d done to her just the other day when they got back from the Elvis concert in 1956.

_When the Doctor’s lips closed around one spot on her neck, and sucked, she was pretty close to considering letting him go and telling Kovarian to fuck off and forget about the mission._

She grinned, and she repeated his earlier action, closing her lips around one spot on his neck, and sucking until she was confident she’d left a mark. The Doctor let out another moan as she did so, this one more audible than the last, which had been muffled by her lips on his. The sound of it caused a heat to rise inside of her she didn’t think was possible. She didn’t think she could genuinely be turned on by her target, yet here she was.

 

It was more likely that the feeling belonged to the Rose on Demon’s Run, but she still found it odd nonetheless. She suppressed the odd feeling, and began to work at untying his tie, tossing it casually on the console as she kissed back up his neck to his lips. The Doctor was quick to pull her at the waist until he’d pulled her taut against him, and she could feel every single part of him radiating warmth as she pressed into him. She could feel the muscles on the inside of his thighs, which were thicker than she’d thought they’d be considering how skinny he was. She could feel his two hearts beating beneath his chest from where her own chest was pulled against him, and she pictured the day that they’d finally stop their never ending drum beat.

 

Rose reached her hands up, and began to undo the buttons on his suit jacket. They were undone quickly, and she reached up to slide the jacket off of his shoulders, when he stopped her, and broke the kiss, both of them breathing heavily as their faces slowly moved apart. All other parts of their bodies that had been touching remained in contact with one another as they stared intensely into each other’s eyes. She instantly noticed the longing held in his eyes, the lust, the desire, all prominently present in the deep brown color of his pupils, and she’d done that to him. _God_ , she thought, I _am good at this._

 

“Why’d… you… stop…?” she panted as he brushed a piece of her disheveled hair out of her eyes.

 

“Someone… could walk in… at any moment,” he panted back, resting his forehead against hers, “… Wow… you…” his breath caught in his throat, and she laughed, “You were really… Something…”

 

She grinned, “I think it’s time we asked about lodging,” she muttered, “Once they give us somewhere to sleep, hey, we could be the first people to have sex under a black hole.”

 

The Doctor laughed, “Well, that… that would be very… very us…” he replied, “But are you… Are you sure, Rose?” he asked, taking her face in his hands, and tilting her face so he could see her, “Are you absolutely sure? I don’t want to do anything if you…”

 

She nodded, “Yeah, I’m sure,” she replied, backing away so he could slide off of the console. Once he was standing, she held out a hand, “Come on, let’s go ask about sleeping arrangements,” she said as he took her hand.

 

Just before she tugged on his hand, and led them out of the control room, the Doctor reached back, and grabbed his tie off of the console before he followed after her.

 

Rose led them to the door the others had gone through, and quickly turned the wheel to open it, eager to continue the rather pleasant distraction she had from their pressing situation.

 

_“OPEN DOOR ONE.”_

_“CLOSE DOOR ONE.”_

They walked down the corridor until they reached another door, and kept on walking until they wound up where Jefferson had found them earlier, in Habitation three.

 

“Wait,” the Doctor protested, before Rose reached to open the final door. She turned and looked at him in confusion, hoping that he wasn’t about to stop them yet again. Mercifully, that wasn’t the case. “We need to not look like we’ve just been…” he looked down at their still gloriously disheveled appearances, and picked up a piece of Rose’s tangled hair, “… well, snogging like teenagers.”

 

Rose laughed, and fingered through her hair until it was as straight as it was going to be, “You too, Doctor,” she told him, looking up at his unkempt hair, “It’s not all sticky uppy anymore.”

 

“Sticky uppy?”  


“Oh, shut it.”

 

Another giggle left his lips as he fixed his hair, then he took his tie, and shoved it in his suit pocket before he redid the buttons, and at last opened the door.

 

_“OPEN DOOR EIGHTEEN.”_

_“CLOSE DOOR EIGHTEEN.”_

The Doctor and Rose walked in with smiles on their faces as their eyes landed on the crew. Most of them were eating, and some were simply talking, but all of them were present except for Toby.

 

“Decided to join us, then?” Scooti asked from where she was getting served food by the Ood, “You were gone an awfully long time.”

 

The rest of them laughed, and Rose found herself joining them as the Doctor awkwardly scratched the back of his head, and led them over to where Zach and Ida were sitting. “I didn’t think it was that long,” he muttered, “Only five minutes.”

 

Rose shrugged as they approached Zach and Ida, and gave the two of them a smile, “Hello, you lot,” she said politely, “So, if we’re stuck here, mind showing us where we’re going to have to stay in the meantime? I’m tired, and I’d like to get some sleep.” She threw in a yawn at the end for good measure.

 

Zach and Ida looked at each other, seeming to fight back more laughter before Ida stood up, “I’ll show you the sleeping quarters, then,” she told them, walking towards a door on the other side of the room. The Doctor and his companion were quick to follow.

 

_“OPEN DOOR TWENTY.”_

_“CLOSE DOOR TWENTY.”_

Door twenty led them into another long corridor, which led them to door twenty one, which led them to a hallway lined with doors on either side. There were at least six doors on each side, and of the twelve doors only one was open. Rose could wager a guess on whose door that was and win.

 

“This’ll be yours, then,” Ida said, walking up to the door, and opening it a little wider for the Doctor and Rose, who both thanked her as they walked inside, and took in the small room. It was much smaller than even the cupboard they’d landed in earlier, and had only one bed. One twin sized bed for the both of them. Rose held back a groan. She was perfectly content shagging the Doctor, but being forced to spend all of her time in this room with him would drive her absolutely batshit crazy.

 

“I know, it’s small,” Ida added sympathetically, “But you’ve got to understand. All the others are full. We haven’t got much room here.”

 

The Doctor shook his head, “No, this is fine,” he told her.

 

Rose feigned a smile, “Yeah, fine,” she added, “And I don’t know if you could tell, but this isn’t the first time we’ve shared a bed.” She grinned when she heard the choking noise the Doctor made beside her.

 

Ida laughed knowingly, and patted the door, “Well, I guess I’ll leave you two alone, then,” she said, “But the funny business stops in the morning. We’ve got a lot of jobs to do, and they need filling.”

 

“Thank you, Ida,” the Doctor said kindly, and she gave him one last nod before she left the room, closing the door behind her. As soon as she was gone, he turned to Rose, and looked at her with a soft smile on his face.

 

 _God, he’s fucking enamored_ , Rose thought, _he’s gone_.

 

Rose pretended to look confused as she glanced up at him, “What is it?” she asked, “Are you having second thoughts, or something?” God, she hoped he wasn’t having second thoughts. After all of those times where it had almost happened, but then it didn’t, she was beyond ready for it to finally happen. There was enough sexual tension in the Tardis to explode a soap opera.

 

He shook his head, “No,” he replied, reaching a hand to caress her cheek, “I just…” Whatever he was going to say, he never finished his sentence, instead, he pressed his lips onto hers, and resumed their moment from earlier. Rose responded instantly, wrapping her arms around his shoulders as she kissed him back, hoping that the kissing that happened next would be a lot more adult than the high school make out they’d had in the control room.

 

The Doctor seemed to have the same idea, and he reached his hands up, and undid the zipper on her pink jacket in one swift movement. Rose unwrapped her arms from his shoulders, and assisted him in removing it, tossing it cavalierly on the shelf on the other side of the room. The time lord’s hands were quick to reunite with her body, and he broke the kiss in shock when he realized that his hands hadn’t made contact with her shirt, but instead the bare skin of her torso.

 

Rose smiled cheekily at him as he stared at her. She hadn’t worn a shirt that day, only her bra underneath the jacket. She would be lying if she said she hadn’t planned for anything to happen that day. “What?” she asked, “Sometimes we land on ridiculously hot planets.”

 

The time lord laughed, “Well,” he breathed, “Seems I’m overdressed, then.”

 

“Mmm, I’d love to rectify that,” she replied cheekily, then she pulled his lips back to hers, and reunited them in a passionate kiss. The ganger’s hands then moved down, and unbuttoned the buttons of his suit jacket while his wrapped around her waist, and pulled her against him for the second time that night. Rose meanwhile slid his jacket off of his shoulders, and let it simply fall gracelessly to the floor. Her fingers then did a tactful dance as they rushed down the column of buttons on his oxford, and a moment later that too fell to the floor, and they were both shirtless. They were even.

 

Rose’s hands, finally out of clothing to remove on his upper half, gripped his shoulders tightly, and she jumped up onto him, wrapping her legs around his torso as his hands came up from under to support her, one on her lower back, the other on her upper back as he continued to kiss her. The ganger moaned into the kiss as the Doctor pressed her against the wall, and he gently parted her lips with his tongue, though he didn’t have to use much effort as she allowed him access.

 

She quickly found that she wasn’t as big of a fan of kissing with tongue, but she pressed on. The real Rose, though her heart was breaking from having to witness him kissing the ganger, did like it, and with a mental eye roll, the ganger continued to let his tongue explore her mouth.

 

In order to distract herself, the ganger let her hands wander down the Doctor’s chest, and with her thumb she began to stroke his nipple. The time lord let out another moan, and he briefly broke the kiss, “Hold on tight,” he growled, and she obeyed before he resumed kissing her, and he turned them around so that her back was facing the bed, then he lowered them onto it.

 

The Doctor broke the kiss again, and he began to plant kisses on her jawline, then her neck, then he pressed one onto her collar bone, and the top of her breast before he resumed kissing her lips. Rose’s breath hitched again as he did so, and as soon as he was kissing her lips again, she quickly reached her hands down, and undid the button on his trousers, then the zipper.

 

The time lord kicked off his shoes, and she followed suit before she rolled them over—an impressive feat, considering how tiny the bed was—and stopped kissing him, placing her arms on either side of him, and holding herself in a push-up position above him, her hair falling around her face as she did so, and she quickly reached up to tuck it behind her ears before she spoke, “Seems like you’re a bit shy to go further south, time lord,” she murmured, “I’ll tell you one thing about humans… We’re not.”

 

The ganger kissed him again, then she repeated her earlier action of trailing kisses down his neck, but this time she continued onto his collarbone, kissing a straight line down his sternum, and continuing down his stomach, stopping just before she reached the line of his trousers. She looked up at him, and he was staring down at her in nervous anticipation as she began to weasel his trousers off of him. However, she took one last glance in his eyes, and stopped before she moved back up to his face, and she kissed him again, “Are you sure?” she asked. If he wasn’t going to commit to this, it wasn’t going to be great, and if she was going to have sex with her target, it had to be awesome.

 

After a momentary pause, the Doctor took her face in his hands, and he kissed her tenderly, passionately before he rested his forehead against hers, and said, “Yes, I’m sure,” with the slightest tremble in his voice.

 

Rose’s eyes darted between his one last time, checking for any uncertainties in them, then when she found none, she pressed her lips to his, and with one of her knees, she wedged his legs apart, and planted hers between them. The ganger quickly set about on the task of removing the Doctor’s trousers, removing her lips from his in order to properly get them off, and she tossed them on the floor where the rest of his clothes had wound up before she crawled back up to him, and they kissed again.

 

She moaned when the Doctor’s hands reached down, and gripped her ass before he reached one of them up to the edge of the fabric, and began to remove the uncomfortable denim. As soon as the jeans were off, Rose continued to snog the Doctor, this time her tongue began to explore his mouth as she deepened their kiss, and his arms wrapped around her waist, holding onto her as if he never wanted to let go.

 

The Doctor suddenly broke away, and Rose pulled back from him, confused by the sudden worry in his eyes. The two panted for a moment before Rose placed a hand on his shoulder, “Doctor, what is it?” she asked, “Why’d you stop?”

 

“Where are we going to go now?” the Doctor asked after a moment, staring blankly at the ceiling, not seeing the ganger, “Without the Tardis…”

 

Rose shrugged, “This lot said they’d give us a lift,” she replied, fingers tracing circles in his shoulder, “Could be worse.”

 

The Doctor sighed, and brushed a piece of her hair back that had fallen free, “And then what?” he asked, “Get a life out there? Find a job, get a life… I’d… god, I’d have to settle down.”

 

“What, like get a house or something?” Rose asked, doubting he’d live long enough to do it. Once they left this planet, she had every intention of sending some sort of signal to Madame Kovarian that they were trapped, and asking to give the kill order so that she could be rescued and the time lord could finally be killed.

 

The Doctor laughed, “A proper house, with doors and things,” he replied, “Could you imagine? Me, living in a house, that is terrifying.”

 

The ganger all but rolled her eyes. The time lord whose name was known throughout the universe as either a healer or a bringer of war was afraid of living in a fucking house. “You’d have to get a mortgage,” she told him, toying with his fear in a teasing tone.

 

He took it as lighthearted teasing, and he shook his head with a smile on his face, “Nope, that’s it, I’m dying,” he replied, “It’s all over.”

 

 _Well_ , she supposed, _he was right about one thing._ She sighed, “I’d have to get one too,” she said with a grimace.

 

“Or we could… share one…” the time lord all but whispered, his eyes wandering happily over her face as he tried to gauge her reaction to him essentially asking her to move in with him.

 

She could barely restrain the feelings of “oh god no,” that were boiling inside of her. The last thing she wanted was an eternity with him, and even though she knew it would never come to that, the mere thought of it made her want to go mad. “Anyway,” she said casually.

 

“We’ll see,” he replied, a soft expression settling into his features as he began to stroke her hair, then he sighed, “I promised Jackie I’d always take you back home.”

 

“Don’t worry, I’m sure I’ll make it there somehow,” she told him, knowing that as soon as she killed him, the true Rose would be released to live the rest of her life in the Powell estate.

 

The Doctor looked up at her in confusion, and he opened his mouth to say something, when Rose put a finger to his lips. “Weren’t we in the middle of something?” she asked cheekily, removing her finger to press another kiss to his lips. His response was instant, and passionate, and he quickly turned them over so that he was on top of her once again, and her hands wrapped around his waist. One reached down to grab his ass, and the other held tightly to his upper back as he kissed her, lips parting and closing around hers in a pattern that left her breathless by the end of it.

 

The Doctor took one of his hands, and began to remove one bra strap from her shoulder, when suddenly Rose’s phone rang, interrupting the moment once again. She broke apart from the Doctor to glare at it, and she elected to ignore it, but the Doctor did not. He grumbled something unintelligible as he rolled off of the bed, and headed for Rose’s jacket.

 

Once he reached the jacket, he pulled out the phone, and handed it to her, “I’m assuming it’s for you?” he asked, “If it’s your mum, I don’t think she’d appreciate me answering it.”

 

Rose rolled her eyes, and took the phone from him before answering, “I’m busy, what do you want?” she asked, not caring if it was Jackie.

 

It certainly wasn’t Jackie Tyler who answered her, but instead it was the voice of one of the Ood, “He is awake,” the Ood’s voice said, sending chills down her spine as she threw the phone to the ground, and looked up at the Doctor horrified.

 

“What is it?” he asked, his eyes full of concern.

 

Rose shook her head, “I don’t know,” she replied, sitting up in the bed, “It was one of the Ood… It said ‘he is awake.’ What the hell does that mean?”

 

The Doctor grinned, “I don’t know, but maybe it’s a part of the mystery,” he replied, reaching for his clothes.

 

Rose groaned, “Oh, come on, it’s not fair,” she muttered, “We keep almost doing it and getting interrupted, first you, then you, then your ship, now a bleedin’ Ood!”

 

The time lord laughed, “It’ll happen when it’s meant to, I’m sure,” he told her, grabbing his trousers, and pulling them on in a series of rather hilarious jumps.

 

Rose groaned audibly, but repeated his action, grabbing her jeans, which had fallen at the end of the bed, and pulling them on with great effort. Why did the real Rose have to wear _fucking_ jeans? They were the worst article of clothing in the universe. She was convinced of this. As the Doctor reached for his oxford, Rose grabbed hold of her jacket, and threw it on. She zipped up the jacket, and reached for her shoes. Once they were on, she was fully dressed.

 

The Doctor was still buttoning up his shirt when she finished getting dressed, and the ganger sighed, standing up and finishing the job for him. “Where’s my jacket? And my tie? More importantly, where’re my chucks?” he asked, looking around the small room in confusion.

 

Rose sighed, “Well, your tie is in your jacket, which you’re currently standing on,” she told him, “But your chucks are on the foot end of the bed. For a time lord with supposedly superior biology, you sure seem shit at keeping up with your things.”

 

“I’m a time lord, not a stuff lord,” he protested as she handed him his jacket. The Doctor began to put on his tie as she walked over to the foot of the bed, and reached for his shoes. By the time she handed them to him, the Doctor had his jacket and tie on, and all that was left were his chucks.

 

A few seconds later, the chucks were on, too, and they were finally, and unfortunately, fully dressed. Rose crossed her arms, and shot the Doctor a slightly bitter glare. She did not want to deal with the big bad of the week. Whoever— _whatever_ —it was had to be one of the fiercest they’d ever faced, and she didn’t fancy putting her life in its hands. “You ready?” she asked.

 

“Oh, yes,” he replied excitedly, then he took her hand in his, and threw their door open before running out into the hallway with her, the adventure finally beginning.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Review?


	21. The Impossible Planet: Assassin vs Archaeologist

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this took so long. Busy week, plus my computer is no longer working, so I'm having to write at the University Library until I can get my computer up and running again. It's a travesty, but I did it, and it's here, and it's longer than I meant for it to be. Oops.

Ten minutes and many wrong turns later, the Doctor and the ganger found the Ood habitation area. They’d initially tried to find it themselves, but the Doctor’s many talents didn’t include Ood finding, so they’d awkwardly gone back to Habitation three where the crew had been earlier. By the time they returned, only Ida remained, and even she was leaving. They’d caught her just in time to have her point out the directions to Ood habitation.

She’d told them with minimal questioning as to why they were heading there, and a few minutes later they opened the door to Ood habitation, where Danny was busy at work on a computer on a deck overlooking the Ood.

“Evening!” the Doctor announced as they walked down the steps toward Danny.

“Only us,” Rose muttered, still bitter from having been interrupted. She’d been so close. If that creepy phone call had just happened ten minutes later…

Danny looked up at them, “Ah, the mysterious couple,” he observed, “How are you, then? Settling in?” He winked at them when he asked his second question, and the Doctor looked down at the floor awkwardly.

The time lord shook off his temporary embarrassment, and stepped forward, “Yeah, sorry, straight to business, the Ood, how do they communicate?” he asked curiously, “I mean, with each other?”

Danny shrugged casually, “Oh, just empaths,” he explained, “There’s a low level telepathic field connecting them. Not that it does them much good. They’re basically a herd race, like cattle.”

Rose could feel a sting of anger in the back of her head from the Demon’s Run Rose. That Rose felt incredibly angry about the treatment of the Ood. The false Rose had yet to see evidence of anything truly harmful, so she let herself ignore it. She couldn’t deny that something seemed odd about a race that was born to serve, but there was something else at hand here. Something much bigger than these Ood.

“This telepathic field, can it pick up messages?” the Doctor asked.

Rose nodded, “Cause I got this message on my…” she searched for the right word for cellphone that the futuristic people would understand, then the real Rose thought of it for her, “… communicator thing while we were…” she glanced at the Doctor.

 

“…Settling in,” he finished awkwardly.

“Right, settling in,” she muttered, tossing him a wink that caused Danny to chuckle, “And it sounded an awful lot like an Ood.”

“Oh, be fair,” Danny protested, “We’ve got whole star systems burning up around us. There’s all sorts of stray transmissions. Probably nothing.”

Rose was far from convinced, and upon looking at the Doctor, it didn’t seem he was convinced either. There was something going on at this sanctuary base, and they were going to find out what. Danny sighed, and looked at them again, “Look, if there was something wrong, it would show,” he explained, pointing to the monitor of his computer, “We monitor the telepathic field, it’s the only way to look after them. They’re so stupid, they don’t even tell us when they’re ill.”

The Doctor nodded at the computer, which read “basic five,” on its screen, “Monitor the telepathic field, that’s this thing?” he asked.

Danny nodded in return, “Yeah, but like I said, it’s only low level telepathy,” he replied, “They only register basic five.”

Rose watched as the number on the screen started to climb, and her eyebrows raised in alarm, “Well, that’s not basic five, mate, that’s basic six,” she said nervously, her eyes glancing over to the Ood, who raised their heads simultaneously, and stared up at the three of them, “Ten, twenty… holy hell…”

“They’ve gone up to basic thirty,” the Doctor breathed.

“But they can’t,” Danny muttered, looking intensely between the monitor and the Ood.

“What does basic thirty mean?” the ganger asked, uncertain if she actually wanted to know the answer.

Danny looked baffled, as if what he was seeing was simply impossible, “Well, it means they’re shouting, screaming inside their heads,” he explained.

“Or something’s shouting at them,” the Doctor murmured, sending a shiver down Rose’s spine. She didn’t want to think about what was shouting at them. Whatever it was… It was going to be bad. Most likely life threatening. She reckoned there was a chance she wouldn’t make it out alive that day.

Danny tapped on the keyboard a few times, still unwilling to believe what the Doctor and the ganger were telling him, “But, where’s it coming from?” he asked, a hint of panic arising in his voice, “What’s it saying? I mean… What did it say to you?” he looked at Rose.

The ganger paused, and swallowed anxiously, “He is awake,” she told him.

“And you will worship him,” the Ood chorused.

Rose felt goosebumps rise all over her body. The real Rose was also terrified, and somehow, involuntarily, the ganger’s hand shot out, and grabbed the Doctor’s. His fingers wrapping around hers not even a second later provided some comfort, but it wasn’t enough. The Ood were still staring up at them unsettlingly, and it terrified her, but she stepped forward, and placed her free hand on the railing. “He is awake,” she repeated.

“And you will worship him,” they replied in unison.

The Doctor stepped forward beside her, “Worship who?” he asked, but there was no response, “Who’s talking to you? Who is it?”

There was no response from the Ood. The creatures in the pen beneath them simply turned their heads away from the ganger, the time lord, and Danny, and continued staring ahead as they had been previously.

The Doctor turned, and headed down the staircase into the Ood pen, and Rose was quick to follow. Danny stayed behind, and continued checking the monitor as it went back down to a basic five.

The ganger looked around as the Doctor pulled out his sonic screwdriver, and began to scan the Ood. “What the hell was that?” she asked, “What…?” She scratched her head, “They said ‘you will worship him,’ worship who?”

“Whatever was screaming at them, I’d imagine,” he replied as he finished scanning one of the Ood. He stared at his screwdriver, and his eyebrows furrowed in confusion, “There’s nothing,” he announced, “Just… Nothing…”

Rose walked by his side, and stared at the Ood he’d just scanned, “Maybe we should try another?” she asked, “Could be worth checking out.”

“Good idea,” he replied, then he moved on to the Ood next to the one he’d scanned, and began to scan it. Rose bit her lip in anticipation, and waited nervously as he finished scanning the second Ood, and still there was nothing.

They stared at each other for a moment, then the ganger sighed, “Doctor, I don’t like this,” she confessed, “I think we’re in more danger than we’ve ever been in.”

The Doctor shrugged, “Maybe, but even if I wanted to…” he replied, “We can’t exactly leave.”

Rose sighed, and leaned her head on his shoulder so he wouldn’t see the incredibly angry expression on her face. The bloodlust was starting to rise up again, and as much as she wanted to press it down and ignore it, she couldn’t. She reached into her pocket, and began to rub the handle of her pocket knife, wishing more than anything that she could take it out, and stab him in the chest. Or she could take out the gun in her other pocket and shoot him.

The Doctor didn’t notice the sudden tenseness of his companion, and he reached up a hand to begin stroking her hair as they looked down at the Ood, still contemplating what had just happened.

Their moment of silence didn’t last much longer after that. Seconds later, the ground beneath them began to shake, and the Doctor and Rose fell to the ground. Both immediately pulled themselves up, and held on to the fencing surrounding the Ood as the shaking continued.

_ “EMERGENCY HULL BREACH,” _ the computer announced,  _ “EMERGENCY HULL BREACH!” _

Rose looked up, and saw Danny speaking into the communicator device on his wrist, “Which section?” he asked in a panicked tone.

Suddenly, Zach’s voice came over the speaker systems, “Everyone... evacuate 11 to 13,” he commanded them, “We’ve got a breach! The base is open. Repeat: the base is open!”

The Doctor and Rose looked at each other, then they ran back up the stairs out of the Ood pen, and headed out of Ood habitation. Danny ran ahead of them, and threw open the door as they ran, barely even stopping to hold it open for the time lord and his companion.

_ “OPEN DOOR NINETEEN.” _

_ “CLOSE DOOR NINETEEN.” _

They ran until they reached a corridor, where they found Jefferson and several other members of the crew shouting into a door for someone to run. “And you too, Toby!” he was shouting as the other three arrived. Toby ran through the door, and immediately fell on his face as Jefferson moved past him to close it, and seal it shut.

_ “BREACH SEALED,” _ the computer announced,  _ “BREACH SEALED.” _

The Doctor immediately ran over to the crew, and looked over all of them, “Everyone alright?” he asked, then he moved on when he received several nods, and he walked up to Jefferson, “What happened? What was it?”

“Hull breach! We were open to the elements…” Jefferson panted, “Another couple of minutes, and we’d have been inspecting that black hole at close quarters.”

Rose stepped forward to join the Doctor, “That wasn’t a quake, though,” she commented, “What caused it?”

Jefferson didn’t get to answer. At that moment, Zach’s voice came over the speaker once again, “We’ve lost sections eleven to thirteen,” he announced, “Is everyone alright?”

The head of security looked around at the crew, the Doctor, and Rose, then he spoke into his communicator, “We’ve got everyone here except Scooti,” he told the captain, then he addressed Scooti, “Scooti, report.”

All they heard was static and a beep, “Scooti Manista?” he called, “That’s an order, report.”

More static and another beep.

“She’s alright,” Zach told them, causing Jefferson and Ida to breathe a sigh of relief, “I picked up her biochip. She’s in Habitation Three. Better go and check if she’s not responding. She might be unconscious. How about that, eh? We survived.”

Rose smiled. He was right about that. They were alive. But for how long would that statement ring true? She could only wonder as she glanced over at Toby, who was now standing up, and staring at his hands perplexed. She walked over to him, and awkwardly laid a hand on his arm, “You alright?” she asked, “What happened?”

Toby shook his head, appearing very flustered as he spoke, “I don’t… I don’t know,” he breathed shakily, “I… I was working, and then I can’t remember… All that noise, the room was falling apart… There was no air…”

Jefferson cleared his throat, “Habitation three, come on, I don’t often say this, but I think we could all use a drink,” he told the crew, then they all started to walk down the corridor toward the door leading to Habitation Three.

Rose looked at Toby, and the two of them and the Doctor followed soon after, all ready to enjoy that drink Jefferson had promised.

By the time the trailing three members of the group walked into Habitation Three, the rest of the crew was already desperately searching for Scooti, who was nowhere in sight. Ida looked the most distressed of them all as she spoke into her wrist communicator, “I’ve checked Habitation Four,” she announced as she walked into the room from the other side of it.  _ She must’ve already gone out into the next room to find Scooti _ , Rose figured.

“Have you seen Scooti?” Jefferson asked Toby as he walked in the room by Rose’s side.

“No,” Toby replied a little too fast, “I don’t think so.”

Rose crossed her arms, and stared down at the archeologist. Everything in her being told her that Toby was lying, but to call him out on it in the midst of all the chaos wouldn’t do anything, so she stayed silent as the others continued searching for Scooti.

“She’s not here,” Jefferson said into his wrist com, “Zach, we’ve got a problem. Scooti’s still missing.”

“It says Habitation Three,” Zach replied.

“Yeah, well that’s where I am,” Jefferson said frustratedly, “and I’m telling you, she’s not here.”

Rose looked about the room, which was dimly lit in the glow of the black hole above them. Where the fresh hell could Scooti be? If her chip was picking her up in Habitation Three, but she was nowhere to be found… The ganger looked up, and immediately gasped, throwing her hand over her mouth as her eyes landed on the body of Scooti Manista. “Shit,” she breathed, “I’ve found her.”

The other people in the room looked up, and one by one she heard them all gasp, and stare horrified up at the slowly fading body above them. Scooti was now lost to the black hole. All they could do was watch as she faded away.

“I’m sorry,” the Doctor whispered, “I’m so sorry.”

“Captain,” Jefferson said behind them, “Report, Officer Scooti Manista, PKD deceased, forty three k two point one.”

“She was twenty,” Ida replied solemnly as she walked away, “Twenty years old.” She walked until she reached the lever that would close the shudders above them, then she pulled on it, and they watched as the shudders closed above them, dimming the light in the room until all that was left were the fluorescent lights that lit the base.

“For how should Man die better than facing fearful odds? For the ashes of his father... and the temples of his Gods,” Jefferson whispered as the shudders closed entirely.

The room suddenly became completely silent as they heard the sound of the drill beneath them come to a halt. No one said anything for a moment, still in shock from the loss they’d just suffered.

Rose was perhaps the only one not still in shock. Toby’s odd behavior combined with how the hell Scooti had wound up outside made her believe that he had everything to do with it. She wondered just what had happened to Toby that made him kill Scooti. It had to be him. He’d lost memory, he’d been acting suspicious ever since they’d come back into the pit…

“It’s stopped…” Ida observed, interrupting the ganger’s thoughts.

“What was that?” Rose asked, moving to stand by the Doctor.

“The drill,” the time lord replied quietly.

“We’ve stopped drilling,” Ida muttered, “We made it. Point zero.”

The crew quickly regained their composure, and over the next half an hour they worked to organize a plan that would get Ida and the captain down the shaft made by the drill in order to investigate what they’d found at the planet’s center. Danny and another crew member had run off to the Ood Habitation area to watch over the nonessential Ood, whom Zach had ordered to be confined until the morning.    
  
The rest of the crew got the capsule that would take down Ida and Zach ready, and once it was in position, Ida ran off to grab a space suit, and Rose had watched in slight dismay when she saw the Doctor chasing after her. He was going to try to get involved with the mission as well, it seemed. 

Ida emerged from the corridor a good two minutes before the Doctor did wearing her spacesuit, and she immediately walked into the capsule to inspect it. “Capsule established,” she announced as she walked back out of it, “All systems functioning... the mineshaft is go... bring systems online now.”

A moment later, the Doctor emerged from the corridor as well in an orange spacesuit that matched Ida’s, and he approached Zach, who was standing by Rose. The captain stared at the Doctor, and sighed, knowing what the time lord was about to tell him. 

“Reporting as a volunteer for the expeditionary force,” the time lord said confidently. 

“Doctor, this is breaking every single protocol,” the captain protested, “We don’t even know who you are.”

The Doctor grinned as Rose walked up beside him, and took his hand in hers, “Yeah, but you trust me, don’t you?” he asked, “And you can't let Ida go down there on her own. Go on... look me in the eye... yes you do, I can see it. Trust.”

“I should be going down,” Zach muttered. 

“The captain doesn’t lead the mission,” the Doctor told him, “The captain stays here, in charge.”

Zach scoffed, “Not much good at it, am I?” he asked bitterly. 

Rose shook her head, “No, you’re doing a great job,” she said, using what the real Rose was thinking, “I promise. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’d like to say goodbye to the Doctor before…” 

Zach gave her a nod, “And I’d best be assuming my position,” he replied in agreement, “Back to the control room it is. Good luck, Doctor.” He gave the Doctor a pat on the shoulder as he walked out of the room. 

“Good luck, captain,” the time lord replied before he turned to face Rose. 

The ganger feigned a smile, “So, ten miles down, was it?” she asked, not having to fake the nervous tone in her voice. 

The Doctor caressed her cheek with his gloved hand, “I’ll be fine, I promise,” he replied, then he leaned down, and pressed a gentle kiss to her lips. It was soft, short, and sweet, but it said everything about the way he felt about her. How he felt about the true Rose, who was currently feeling a decent amount of pain according to the connection the ganger had with her. 

As the Doctor pulled away, the ganger grinned, and wrapped her arms around his shoulders, pulling his lips back to hers as she kissed him almost as passionately as she’d kissed him in their bedroom earlier. He was quick to respond to the kiss, and his arms wrapped around her waist in order to pull her against him as he kissed her with the same passion that she kissed him. The real Rose was practically screaming in agony, an agony which only intensified as the kiss progressed. 

Eventually, the pain became too much for the ganger, and she pulled away, keeping her eyes squeezed shut as she pulled him to her in a hug. He couldn’t see the expression on her face as she tried to suppress the pain she was feeling from the real Rose.  _ Stop it _ , she thought to the Demon’s Run Rose,  _ please, stop _ .

Slowly, but surely, the pain began to subside, and the ganger let out a deep breath as she pulled away from the Doctor, pressing one last gentle kiss to his lips before she rested her forehead against his. They both let out shaky breaths as they held each other, though hers was for an entirely different reason than his was. 

The Doctor was the first to pull away from the passionate embrace, and he reached a hand up to brush her hair out of her face, “I…” he started to say, but then he looked down at the floor before he looked up at her again, “I’ll see you later.” He then took the helmet he’d been holding in his hand the whole time, and placed it on his head before turning on a light inside of it, and beaming at her. 

The ganger’s heart stopped. What exactly had he been about to say before he looked down at the floor? She had a feeling he was about to say those three little words. That would’ve probably sent the real Rose into so much pain, the ganger would’ve collapsed from the headache. But oh, would it have been satisfying. 

She smiled, “Not if I see you first,” she said softly, then suddenly she felt the true Rose’s presence become overwhelming in her mind, and she reached out, and grabbed the Doctor’s helmeted head before pressing a kiss to where his forehead was. 

The Doctor gave her one last smile, then they heard Zach’s voice over the coms announcing that the capsule was ready, and he walked over to the capsule with Ida, and got in as Zach began a countdown. 

Rose quickly turned around, feeling as though she was losing control of herself. The girl on Demon’s Run had tried to take control one too many times today. It was terrifying her. She could only hope that Kovarian and the others were busily at work trying to fix the problem, or else she’d be caught, and quickly. The Doctor had by some mercy not realized who she was yet, which sent a feeling of indescribable pride through her. That feeling wouldn’t last if the real Rose was able to get enough control of her to tell the Doctor that the woman he’d been with for a few weeks now was not the woman he loved, but an assassin created to kill him. 

She put every fiber in her being into suppressing the Demon’s Run Rose, and within a few seconds, she felt the woman’s presence in her mind begin to dissipate, and a sigh of relief washed over her. At the same time, she could feel her bloodlust start to rise from the intensity of the mental struggle she’d just endured, and she quickly reached into her pocket to rub the handle of the knife. 

The feeling of the knife in her hands calmed her slightly, and she took in a deep breath as she turned around just in time to see the capsule start to descend into the planet. She looked at the Doctor, and the two locked eyes one last time before he disappeared from sight. The ganger grinned. For the next few hours at least, the real Rose wouldn’t be a problem. Since the Doctor was gone, there was nothing she could do to interfere with the plan. 

She watched as the cables continued to lower the Doctor and Ida into the ground, her smile growing wider as she heard Zach announce that they’d gone below the oxygen field, and they were truly on their own.  _ Oh, yes they are _ , she thought. 

She stared intently at the cable, and thought of what she could do to bring the mission to a close right then and there. If she could shoot out the cable with the gun in her pocket, the Doctor and Ida would plummet to their deaths, and it’d be far too fast for him to regenerate. From there, she could find some way of contacting Kovarian, and letting her know, then she’d be brought back to Demon’s Run to be hailed a hero, and the real Rose would be left to live out the rest of her solemn human life in peace.

The ganger shook off the thought, deciding that for now, it was best to wait for the order to kill. Given the particular danger they were in, killing the Doctor right then and there was probably not the greatest decision she could make. Instead of shooting out the cable, she turned to look at the monitor showing the progress the Doctor and Ida were making toward the ground, and was surprised to note that they were already almost there.

Suddenly the capsule reached point zero, and the entire base shook violently, throwing Rose off balance. She fell against the nearby wall, then steadied herself, and watched as Jefferson took the comm in his hand, “Doctor?” he asked, “Doctor, Ida, are you alright?”

There was no response, and Rose began to wonder if something had gone violently wrong with the landing… If they’d somehow been killed by the impact… Or if their oxygen tanks had failed them. Perhaps the mission had been completed without her even having to lift a finger. Her hopes began to rise, when suddenly they heard a voice come over the coms. 

“It’s alright,” the Doctor breathed, and Rose’s face fell when she realized he was still alive, “We’ve made it… Coming out of the capsule now.”

_ At least he’s mine to kill now _ , she thought happily as she took the com from Jefferson’s hand, “So, what’s it like down there?” she asked curiously. It wasn’t everyday she’d get to see the center of a planet that was orbiting a black hole. 

“It’s hard to tell,” the Doctor said, some confusion evident in his voice, “Some sort of… cave… cavern… It’s massive!”

Ida’s voice came over the coms next, “Well, this should help,” she replied, “Gravity globe.”

Rose wasn’t sure what a gravity globe was, but it must’ve cleared up the darkness down below, because the next few things they heard over the coms were delighted comments about their surroundings. 

“That’s, my god that’s beautiful,” Ida breathed.

“Rose,” the Doctor said, “You can tell Toby we’ve found his civilization.”

Rose looked over at the archeologist, who was sitting in a ball on the floor, and sighed, “Hey, Toby, you’ve got plenty of work,” she told him, not missing how antsy he still seemed. It looked as though Toby were on edge, or like he was recovering from a drug high. There was something not right about him, and there hadn’t been since the moment they’d reunited in the corridor before finding Scooti’s body. 

“Good, good, good,” Toby muttered in response.

Rose looked down at him in both concern and fear, and she handed the com back to Jefferson before she walked over to the chief dramatist, and sat down beside him, “What’s going on?” she asked. 

“I… I don’t know what y-you mean,” Toby stammered, “I-I’m fine.”

“Horse shit,” Rose muttered, crossing her arms, “I can see right through you. You’ve been off for a while. I don’t think you’ve been right since we were in the control room. What happened to you?” 

“I-I don’t know,” Toby replied innocently, but there was something in his eyes, just beyond the surface that Rose could see. It was something she was familiar with, she’d seen it only too often in the mirror. It was pure, unfiltered evil. Something had gotten into Toby, and the archeologist was not the same man he once was, if he’d ever been a good man. She didn’t know enough about him to make an assessment of who he was before she and the Doctor had come there.

She took in a deep breath, and attempted to shut out the conversation that was now going on between Zach, Ida, and the Doctor about the civilization they’d found. She tried to focus on Toby, who was currently the most fascinating thing in the room to her, “Toby, what happened to you when you were alone?” she asked, “Did something happen? Something involving Scooti?” she lowered her voice as she spoke to him.

He shook his head, “I-I don’t th-think, I… I don’t know, I can’t remmber,” he said, sounding genuine, yet there was still that horrid presence lurking behind his eyes. Rose could feel it watching her, even if Toby wasn’t. It was like she was being studied, and picked apart under its gaze, and it unsettled her greatly. 

“Toby, I’m serious,” she whispered softly, “You’ve got this look in your eyes… I know that look… I’ve seen it before…”

She wanted to say more, but then Danny’s panicked voice sounded over the coms, interrupting what she was about to say to Toby, and she stood up in alarm, “Captain, sir,” Danny began, “There’s something happening with the Ood.”

Rose spared one last glance at Toby, and began to walk back over to the com, taking it from Jefferson once again in case she had to speak. 

“What are they doing?” Zach asked. 

“They’re staring at me,” Danny replied through a lowered voice, “I’ve told them to stop, but they won’t.”

“Danny, you’re a big boy,” Zach told him irritatedly, “I think you can handle being stared at.”

“You should listen to him, Zach,” Rose said into the com, “There’s been something weird happening with the Ood all day.”

“Rose is right, sir,” Danny replied, “And the telepathic field? Earlier it went up to Basic thirty. Now it’s at Basic one hundred. I’ve checked sir, there isn’t any fault. It’s definitely one hundred.”

“What does Basic one hundred mean?” Rose asked. 

“They should be dead,” Danny replied, sending chills down the ganger’s spine. 

“Basic one hundred’s brain death,” Jefferson muttered.

“But they’re safe?” Zach asked, “They’re not actually moving?”

“No, sir,” Danny replied. 

“Keep watching them,” Zach ordered, “And you, Jefferson, keep a guard on the Ood.”

Jefferson turned to the guard he’d brought with him, “Officer at arms!” he commanded him, readying his own gun to fire.

“Yes sir!” the guard replied, preparing his gun as well. 

Rose’s eyebrows raised, “Shouldn’t you not fire guns in here?” she asked, “What if you hit a wall?”

Jefferson shook his head, “I’m firing stock fifteen,” he replied, “Only packs upon organics.”

Rose gave him a nod, then she set down the com, and reached out her hand, “Have you got a spare, then?” she whispered curiously. 

The head of security gave her a strange look, “You know how to fire?” he asked, “Are you any good with a weapon?”

She nodded once again, then she leaned into his ear to whisper, “Sir, I’m a trained assassin, I’m phenomenal with a weapon,” she replied, “I’ve got two in my pockets.”

Jefferson seemed to shiver at what she said, “You’re not here to kill anyone, are you?” he asked. 

“No,” she replied, “Not anyone here. I was just traveling with the Doctor when we wound up here.”  She pulled away, and Jefferson sighed. 

He reached into the pocket of his jacket, and pulled out a tiny pistol of sorts, then he handed it to her, and she mouthed a thank you before she gently placed the gun inside of her back pocket. “I promise, that was a good decision,” she told him quietly, “If this goes wrong, I’ll be able to help you.”

He gave her a half smile, then they focused their attention back on the coms when they heard the Doctor’s voice, “Is everything alright up there?” the time lord asked. 

Rose reached for the com, “Yeah, yeah,” she replied, shooting a glance at Jefferson, “It’s fine.”

“Just great!” Danny muttered bitterly.

“We've found something. It looks like metal. Like some sort of seal. I've got a nasty feeling the word might be "trapdoor". Not a good word, "trapdoor". Never met a trapdoor I liked,” the Doctor told them. 

“The edge is covered with those symbols,” Ida added.

“Does it open?” Rose asked, “Is there some sort of mechanism to make it open?”

“That’s what trapdoors tend to do,” the Doctor replied.

“"Trapdoor" doesn't do it justice. It's massive, Rose. About thirty feet in diameter,” Ida told them.

“Any way of opening it?” the captain asked over the com.

“I don’t see any sort of mechanism,” Ida replied.

“I suppose that’s the writing,” the Doctor observed, “The writing’ll tell us what to do. The letters that defy translation.”

Rose turned, and looked back at Toby, “Toby, did you ever get anywhere with decoding it? They need to know,” she told him, noticing that he looked more anxious than ever, and the evil behind his eyes was slowly taking over, “That lettering, does it make any sense?” she asked him.

The archeologist put his head in his arms, “I know what it says,” he breathed quietly. 

Rose gulped, and spoke into the com, “There’s something wrong with Toby,” she told the others quietly, not bothering to explain how she knew, “He’s got this look in his eyes… Listen, something tells me we’re not safe, say nothing about what I just told you,” she cleared her throat, and addressed Toby again, “Tell us what it says, Toby.”

Toby suddenly stood up, and turned towards them, causing Rose to gasp. Every bare surface of Toby’s skin was covered with those symbols he’d written on the walls, and his eyes were no longer just a little evil looking, they were purely red. Rose was thoroughly terrified, and she gasped as her hand flew up to greet her mouth. 

“These are the words of the Beast,” he said in a voice that was much deeper than Toby’s usual one. It reminded the ganger of the difference between her Rose voice, and her true voice, “And he has woken.”

Rose and Jefferson both pulled out their guns, and pointed them at Toby. Rose held the com up to her lips, with her other hand, and spoke nervously, “There’s something very wrong, he’s… he’s possessed or something,” she told the others, then she set down the com, and steadied her aim with both hands, ready to fire a shot straight into Toby’s head. She wasn’t even certain if her bullets would kill him. All she knew was if it came down to that, she’d have to try. 

“He is the heart that beats in the darkness,” Toby continued in that disturbing voice, “He is the blood that will never cease, and now he will rise.”

“Officer, stand down,” Jefferson ordered, “Stand down!”

“What is it?” the Doctor asked urgently, “What’s he done? What’s happening? Rose? What’s going on?”

Rose picked up the com one last time, “I don’t know, Doctor, but I’ve got to focus on him,” she told the time lord, “We really shouldn’t be talking.” With that said, she put down the com, and focused once again on Toby.

“Jefferson?” Zach called out, “Report! Report!”

“Officer, as commander of security, I order you to stand down and be confined,” Jefferson commanded Toby, who didn’t listen, “Immediately!”

“Mr. Jefferson, tell me,” Toby said, smiling eerily at Jefferson, “Sir, did your wife ever forgive you?”

Rose spared a glance at Jefferson, who was beginning to sweat nervously. Clearly whatever the possessed Toby had said struck a chord, “I don’t know what you mean,” he protested, though he clearly knew exactly what the archeologist meant. 

“Let me tell you a secret,” Toby continued, “She never did.”

“Oi, mate, why don’t you stand the hell down?” Rose asked, “Your head of security gave you an order.”

“If you don’t stand down, then under the jurisdiction of condition red, I am authorized to shoot you,” Jefferson told Toby, looking incredibly hesitant to shoot the younger man. 

Rose glared at Toby, “I promise you, I won’t be quite so hesitant,” she hissed. 

“But how many can you kill?” Toby asked, then the black marks began to leave him in the form of an odd smoke, and it floated through the air until it found all of the Ood in the room, and Rose gasped as the Ood clutched their heads, then stood at attention with red in their eyes. Toby let out a weak cough as the red faded from his eyes, then he collapsed to the ground. 

Rose trained her gun on the Ood as they spoke in unison again, “We are the Legion of the Beast,” they chorused, causing goosebumps to rise on her skin once again. She only faintly heard the Doctor’s voice announcing that he and Ida were coming back up over the coms, and Zach’s urgent questioning of what the hell was happening as she pointed her gun at Ood after Ood, not sure which one to shoot first. 

“The legion shall be many,” the Ood continued, holding their translation orbs out in front of them threateningly, “And the legion shall be few. He has woven himself into the fabric of your life since the dawn of time…”

They begun to advance, and Rose, Jefferson, and Jefferson’s guard slowly began to back away, “Some may call him Abbadon, some may call him Krop Tor, some may call him Satan, or Lucifer, or the bringer of despair…”

“Captain, it’s the Ood!” Danny cried over the coms, “They’re out of control!”

“... The Deathless Prince, the Bringer of Night… These are the words that shall set him free.”

“Let’s go to the door!” Rose cried, making a run for the nearest door. Jefferson and his crew member followed her, and they struggled to open it as the Ood continued their haunting advance.

“Get it open!” Jefferson cried as the Ood only got closer, and closer…

“...My legion shall swarm across the worlds…”

“Doctor! It’s opening!” they heard Ida’s voice shout.

Suddenly the whole base began to shake, and Rose turned away from the door, and aimed her gun at the Ood once again. 

“We’re moving!” Zach cried suddenly, “The whole planet’s moving! The gravity field… We’re losing orbit! We’re gonna fall into the black hole!”

Rose fired a desperate shot into the nearest Ood’s head, and it collapsed in front of her as the others continued to approach, and Jefferson and the crew member struggled to open the door before them. Seeing the Ood not stand up again, she tried to fire a shot into the remaining two, but the ground was shaking so badly at that point, she couldn’t aim her gun properly. She closed her eyes, and held on for dear life as she prepared to die from the Ood’s touch. 

  
“... The pit is open… And I am free.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If y'all could leave some reviews that'd be banging, seeing as this story only has two. Thanks so much for reading.


	22. The Satan Pit: The False Girl

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Holy shit I've been waiting to write this episode since 2015 when I was still working on The Girl in the Fireplace. I'm so excited that it's finally here, and we've finally got the ganger on the edge of her seat. Anyway, after two years, here it is.

“Open fire!” Jefferson cried, then he, the guard, and Rose began firing their guns at the Ood as the shaking subsided. 

 

They could hear Zach’s voice coming over the radio announcing that they were stabliizing. They wouldn’t be falling into the black hole just yet. Rose sighed in relief as she landed a bullet in the head of the nearest Ood, and at last they were all dead. She leaned back against the door, and took several deep breaths with the member of Jefferson’s guard as the man himself rushed back to the coms. 

 

“Doctor, Ida, can you hear me?” Jefferson asked, a worried look on his face when the only thing he received was silence. 

 

**_“OPEN DOOR TWENTY FIVE.”_ **

 

Rose and the guard trained their guns on the door as it opened, then they immediately lowered their weapons when they saw Danny walk in with his hands up, “It’s me!” he cried, moving to close the door behind him, “But they’re coming.”

 

**_“CLOSE DOOR TWENTY FIVE.”_ **

 

Danny panted as he walked up to them, “It’s the Ood, they’ve gone mad,” he explained. 

 

“Tell us something we don’t know, mate,” Rose muttered as Jefferson walked away from the com, and back toward them. 

 

“How many of them?” the head of security asked worriedly, attempting to push past him. 

 

“All of them,” Danny breathed, “All fifty!”

 

Jefferson looked exasperated as he attempted to move past Danny, “Out of the way,” he ordered him, finally moving past him, and opening door twenty five. 

 

“Is that really a good idea, sir?” Rose asked behind them. 

 

“Do you see any other way out?” Jefferson retorted. 

 

Rose silenced herself as he got the door open, only to reveal the maddened Ood Danny had been running away from. “Shit,” she whispered, “Close the bloody door!”

 

It was too late. By the time anyone thought to move to close the door, the Ood in front of the group had stepped forward, and pressed his interface device to the guard’s head, electrocuting her. The woman screamed as she fell to the ground, and Rose immediately raised her gun, and shot him dead. The Ood fell back into the group as Rose continued firing at them. 

 

Eventually, Jefferson and Danny began to close the door, and Rose lowered her weapon panting. Her vision was lined with red, and the bloodlust had never been more intense. Normally killing eased it, but this time was different. This time was about survival. That bloodlust was crucial. It was keeping her alive in that moment. She’d need it.

 

As Rose came down from the high she’d just gotten, she noticed Jefferson and Danny running about and sealing off the remaining doors in case more Ood came, and rushed down to help them as the red faded from her sight. “What’s going on?” she asked.

 

“We’re sealing the doors,” Danny explained, “Should keep them out for a little while.”

 

Rose gave him a nod, then her attention was captured by Zach’s voice over the comms, “Jefferson, what’s happening there?” the captain asked. 

 

Jefferson took a few steps, and picked up the com, “I’ve got very little ammunition, sir,” he told his captain, “What about you?”

 

Zach hesitated before he responded, “All I’ve got is a bolt gun,” he said bitterly, “With, er, all of one bolt. I could take out a grand total of one Ood. Fat lot of good that is.”

 

The head of security took a deep breath, “Given the emergency, sir, I recommend strategy nine,” he told him. 

 

Another pause before Zach answered again, “Strategy nine,” he repeated, “Right, agreed, we need to get everyone together. Rose?”

 

“Yeah?” she asked in response as she took the com from Jefferson.

 

“What about Ida and the Doctor? Any word?”

 

“How should I know? I haven’t been on the coms, I’ve been busy fighting the Ood.”

 

Another voice came over the coms in that second, surprising Rose with the fact that he was still alive, “No, sorry, I’m fine,” the Doctor’s voice rang out, clear as a bell, “Still here.”

 

“You could’ve said, you stupid bastard,” Rose muttered in response. 

 

A light chuckle sounded through the coms, “Whoa, careful,” the Doctor said, “Anyway, it’s both of us, me and Ida, hello! But the seal opened up. It's gone. All we've got left is this chasm.”

 

“How deep is it?” the ganger asked, wondering just what the hell he’d found down there, “Did it open when all the shaking happened?”

 

“Yeah, yeah it did,” the Doctor replied, “Can’t tell how deep it is, though, looks like it goes down forever.”

 

“The beast said, ‘the pit is open,’ Doctor,” Rose told him, “And he’s free. Is this what he meant?”

 

The Doctor paused for a moment, “I don’t see any beast.”

 

“It said satan,” Rose observed, then she scoffed, “Sounds like someone’s quite full of themselves. Couldn’t possibly be the real thing, could it?”

 

Before the Doctor could reply, Zach’s voice came over the coms once again, “Ida, I recommend that you withdraw, immediately,” he told her. 

 

“But we’ve come all this way,” Ida protested. 

 

“Okay, that was an order,” Zach replied, “Withdraw. When that thing opened, the whole planet shifted. One more inch and we fall into the black hole. So this thing stops right now.”

 

“But it’s not much better up there with the Ood,” she replied. 

 

“I’m initiating strategy nine, so I need the two of you up here immediately. No ar-”

 

Suddenly there was static over the coms, and Ida and the Doctor went silent. Rose’s eyebrows furrowed in concern as she wondered just why the hell they wouldn’t want to escape the Ood and the deadly beast that had opened the pit. 

 

“What’s strategy nine?” she asked Jefferson. 

 

The man standing beside her sighed, “Open the airlocks,” he explained, “We’ll be safe in the lockdown, and the Ood get sucked out into space. It’s only supposed to happen in an emergency. I suppose this counts.”

 

Rose nodded, “What about Ida and the Doctor?” she asked, “Have we even got time to get them back up here?”

 

Jefferson hesitated, not seeming to know the answer to the question. She nodded slowly at his silence, then she turned her head towards the sound of someone groaning. 

 

Toby was slowly sitting up from where he’d collapsed earlier as the black energy left him, a dazed look in his eyes as he righted himself, and blinked at them. “What… happened?” he slurred, looking up at them in utter confusion. 

 

The ganger scoffed, “Like you don’t know,” she muttered, kneeling down in front of him, and scanning his eyes for signs of the evil she’d seen in them earlier. It was as she suspected. Just the slightest trace of that wickedness lay behind his eyes, but it was enough to make her certain that their ordeal with him wasn’t over. She smirked at him knowingly, then slowly stood, and tightened her grip on the gun Jefferson had given her. “Perhaps you don’t,” she added as she stood at her full height. 

 

Whatever was going on with Toby, she wasn’t sure of it. She was fairly certain, however, that the archeologist was no longer himself, that he never would be again. The Beast had taken over him. Toby Zed was very likely deceased. She couldn’t voice this concern out loud, though, for fear of what the Beast would do to them once it knew that she was aware of its presence. 

 

“I… I don’t…” Toby replied, looking up at her with that confused look in his eyes. Whoever the Beast was, he was a fantastic actor. She almost believed his performance as the scared, confused archeologist. 

 

It took all of Rose’s strength not to snicker at what she knew to be a lie. Mercifully, the Doctor’s voice came over the coms, distracting her, “Rose, we’re coming back,” he announced, causing the other people in the room to sigh in relief. 

 

The blonde hurried over to the com, and picked it up, not sure why she had a smile on her face. It must’ve been the real Rose again. She really had to get control of that girl. “Best news I’ve heard all day,” she told him with the true Rose’s enthusiasm. 

 

Before she could listen to the Doctor’s response, she heard the sound of someone cocking a gun, and turned around to see Jefferson training his weapon on Toby. She stared at him in shock. She hadn’t expected Jefferson to be so willing to turn the gun on his own man, not after he’d seen the energy seemingly leave him. 

 

“What the hell are you doing?” Rose asked in concern.

 

“He’s infected,” Jefferson explained, “He brought that thing on board, you saw it.”

 

Rose walked up to him slowly, “Don’t do it,” she said quietly, then she leaned forward, and whispered in his ear, “We can’t trust him, but do not shoot him. Not yet. There’s something more sinister at work here.”

 

“How do you know?”

 

“Assassin’s intuition.”

 

Jefferson cautiously pulled away from her, and the two exchanged a tense look before they turned their gazes back to Toby, who was still shivering on the floor below them. “Alright,” Jefferson conceded, lowering his weapon, “I won’t shoot.”

 

“Thank you,” Rose breathed, then she looked down at Toby, “Any sign of trouble, though, and we will shoot.”

 

Toby gave her a terrified nod, then he pulled his knees up to his chest, and rocked himself slightly. 

 

“Okay, we’re in,” Ida’s voice announced over the coms, “Bring us up.”

 

Jefferson walked over to the capsule operator, and let his hand hover over a button, “Ascension in three, two, one…” he announced, but just as he pressed the button to bring the Doctor and Ida back up to them, the power went out. A second later several emergency lights came on, lighting up the room once more, and Rose glanced down at Toby, wondering if the evil had come to light inside of him again, but she saw no such thing. He was still sitting there pretending to be terrified. 

 

Suddenly the monitor near the coms flickered to life, and revealed an image of the Ood standing outside their doors, eyes glowing vibrant red in the dim light, haunting Rose to her core. She refused to let the fear show, however, and worked hard to suppress not only her fear, but the true Rose’s as well.  _ Come on _ , she thought,  _ work with me, if we want to make it out of this alive, we need to be strong _ .

 

The real Rose seemed to agree, and within a moment, the fear was pressed down into the back of her head as she stared down the Ood on the monitor. “This is the darkness,” the Ood said in unison, voices deeper and darker than she’d heard before, “This is  _ my  _ domain.”

 

“This is Captain Zachary Cross Flane of Sanctuary Base Six,” Zach’s voice announced over the coms, “representing the Torchwood archive. You will identify yourself.”

 

“You know my name,” the Ood replied. 

 

“What do you want?” Zach asked in response. 

 

“You will die here,” the Ood told them, “All of you. This planet is your grave.”

 

“It’s him,” Toby muttered under his breath, causing Rose to raise an eyebrow, “It’s him, it’s him, it’s him.”

 

She heard a chuckle over the coms, then the Doctor’s voice rang through loud and clear, “If you are the Beast, then answer me this,” he commanded it, “Which one? Hmm? Cos the universe has been busy since you've been gone. There's more religions than there are planets in the sky. The Archiphets, Orkology, Christianity, Pash Pash, New Judaism, San Klah, Church of the Tin Vagabond. Which devil are you?”

 

“All of them.”

 

“What then, you’re the truth behind the myth?”

 

“This one knows me as I know him, the  _ killer _ of his own kind.”

 

Rose’s eyes widened. How the hell had the beast known that? Kovarian hadn’t even known that until weeks before she’d hatched the plan to bring the ganger into being to kill the time lord. She’d discovered it in her many searches to figure out why the Doctor was the sole time lord anywhere in the universe. Why he’d survived the time war. When she’d found out, it had been the final straw in the idea that he needed to die. It was what compelled her to kill him. The ganger entirely agreed with the sentiment, and she should, given that she’d been engineered by them for that purpose. 

 

“How’d you end up here?” Rose asked, grabbing the com once again.

 

“The Disciples of the Light rose up against me and chained me in the pit for all eternity,” the beast explained. 

 

“When?” she asked in response. 

 

“Before time.”

 

“ _ What? _ ” the Doctor asked in confused alarm, “What does before time mean?”

 

“Before light and time and space and matter,” the Beast replied, “Before the cataclysm. Before this universe was created.”

 

“That’s impossible, no life could’ve existed back then,” the Doctor said in disbelief.

 

“Is that your religion?” the Beast asked him. 

 

“It’s a belief.”

 

“You know nothing,” the Beast told them, barely disguising the obvious laugh in his voice, “All of you, so small. The captain, so scared of command.”

 

Rose could almost see the captain hanging his head in shame. He truly was terrified of command, but how the hell had the beast known? She suddenly felt her heart drop into her stomach as it raced faster than it ever had before as she realized the Beast had to be psychic. “Shit,” she breathed, knowing that if it had figured out who she was, her cover could be blown in seconds. The Doctor would know of the plan, and he’d be able to stop her. That couldn’t happen.

 

“The soldier, haunted by the eyes of his wife,” the Beast continued, and Rose’s eyes drifted to Jefferson, who suppressed a shudder as the horrid creature addressed him, then it moved on to the other members of the team.

 

“The scientist, still running from daddy…” Must’ve been Ida. Rose could only imagine what the Beast meant by that. 

 

“The little boy who lied…” Rose watched as a bead of sweat made it’s way down Danny’s forehead. What the hell did that mean? That was even more vague than the other statements. 

 

“The virgin…” 

 

This time Rose’s eyes fell on Toby, and she quirked an eyebrow at him again, “Seriously?” she asked. The archeologist simply shrugged in response. 

 

Then the Beast finally got around to her, and she was fairly certain she would go into cardiac arrest from what he said about her, words that shook her to her core, “The false girl,” it began, “so far away from home, who will die in battle, so very soon…”

 

Rose shuddered as she addressed the Beast, “W-What does that mean?” she asked, thoroughly shaken for the first time since they’d landed on this planet. Oh, how she wished they’d turned back into the Tardis and run for the hills. The Doctor just had to love exploring, didn’t he?

 

“You will win,” it told her, “But you will fall… So far… so far into the endless night. And I will live.”

 

Her heart raced even faster, she could almost hear it beating in the silence that had fallen over the room as the Beast spoke to her. The feeling only worsened as the image of a horned beast flashed briefly in front of the monitor, causing all of them to jump back, and Rose let out a terrified shriek, nearly dropping the com as she moved. 

 

She maintained her grip on the com as the Beast went silent, not saying anything more, “What the hell was that?” she asked no one in particular as the room descended into chaos. 

 

“I had that thing inside my head,” Toby breathed, panicked as he slowly stood up with them. 

 

“Doctor, what did it mean?” Rose asked into the com. The time lord seemed to always know the answer to everything. What the hell did that thing mean when it said she’d win? Win what? The battle? Was it her mission? Did it know about that? What the hell would the Doctor think about the “false girl,” part of his speech? Most concerning of all… What did it mean by her falling into the endless night? What was that endless night? She was fairly certain it meant she would die. She would kill the Doctor, but she’d die in the process. The ganger gulped nervously. At least it meant she achieved her mission, but she was in no way pleased to learn that she’d die. 

 

“What do we do?” Danny asked, beginning to panic himself, “Jefferson?”

 

Jefferson was too busy speaking into his wrist device, “Captain? What’s the situation on strategy nine?”

 

“Zach, what do we do?” Danny asked.

 

“Captain, report,” Jefferson demanded.

 

“Doctor, how did it know all that stuff?” Rose inquired.

 

“Stop,” the Doctor said firmly, but no one listened. Everyone’s voices rose higher and higher until every single one of them was yelling at one another. “Everyone just stop!” he shouted, then incredibly loud feedback resounded throughout the com system, and they all flinched visibly. The ganger clutched her ears as she recovered from the loud, high pitched noise, and turned her attention to the time lord on the coms. 

 

“You want voices in the dark?” the Doctor asked, “Then listen to mine. That thing is playing on basic fears. Darkness, childhood nightmares, all that stuff… Not sure what it meant about you, though, Rose. The whole ‘false girl,’ thing.”

 

“Not sure what it meant myself,” she lied, “But that’s how the devil works.”

 

“Or a good psychologist,” the Doctor retorted.

 

“Yeah, but how did it know about my father?” Ida asked.

 

“Okay, but what makes his version of the truth any better than mine, hmm?” the Doctor asked in response, “Cause, I’ll tell you what I see. Humans. Brilliant humans. Humans who travel all the way across space, flying in a tiny little rocket. Right into the orbit of a black hole. Just for the sake of discovery. That’s amazing! Do you hear me? Amazing, all of you! The Captain, his Officer, his elders, his juniors, his friends. All with one advantage. The Beast is alone. We are not. If we can use that to fight against him-”

 

He never got to finish his sentence, at that moment, they all heard a great snapping noise. Rose’s head snapped in the direction of the capsule, and she watched in horror as the cables holding it snapped, and began to fall ten miles down on top of the capsule. “Oh, shit,” she mumbled under her breath. 

 

Instantly, she pulled the com back to her mouth, “Doctor, the cable snapped,” she told him, frowning when she heard only static in resposne, “Doctor? Ida?”

 

“Coms are down,” Zach told her a moment later, “I’ve still got life signs, but we’ve lost the capsule. There’s no way out. They’re stuck down there.” 

 

The ganger sighed disappointedly. The Doctor was stuck down there with only an hour of oxygen, and she’d never see him again. She’d never be able to carry out her mission. So much for that victory the Beast had promised her. She could only wonder whether the falling into darkness part of his prophecy would come true, and hope that it didn’t. She had to get back to Demon’s Run to report what had happened to Kovarian when this was all over. She couldn’t die here. 

 

“We’ve got to bring them back,” Rose said tensely, trying not to show her anger over the loss of her target.

 

“They’re ten miles down,” Jefferson told her, shaking his head, “We haven’t got another ten miles of cable.”

 

Rose was about to ask him another question, but was interrupted by a banging sound coming from the direction of door twenty five. The four people in the room’s heads turned quickly, and they watched in horror as sparks flew from the door. They could only guess what was happening on the other side. 

 

“Captain?” Jefferson asked into his wrist com, “Situation report.”

 

There was a pause before Zach replied, “It’s the Ood, they’re cutting through the bolts,” he told them, “They’re breaking in.”

 

“Yeah, it’s the same on door twenty five,” Jefferson told him, a hint of fear showing on his face. 

 

“How long’s it gonna take them to get in?” Rose asked, preparing to raise her weapon once again.

 

“Well, it’s only a basic frame,” Jefferson replied, “It should take ten minutes…. Eight,” he added as another bolt was cut from the door.

 

“Right, so we need to stop them, get out, or both,” Rose observed, a grin forming on her face. Oh, how she loved plotting. 

 

“I’ll take both, yeah,” Danny said, “But how?”

 

Rose thought for a moment, “Did you hear the Doctor?” she asked, approaching Danny, “Listen, I’ll tell you something. He’s smart. I resent him with all of my being, but he’s brilliant.”

 

“Resent him?” Jefferson asked confused. 

 

Rose gave him a firm nod, “Who did you think my target was, Mister Jefferson?” she asked, “It’s him, I’m just waiting for the kill order. He may seem like a good man, but trust me, he’s not. He’s one of the most ruthless men in the universe, and he needs to be stopped… However, he’s also the only one who can get us out of here, and like I said, he’s brilliant. It’ll be an honor, taking him down. But what he was saying right before he got cut off? He was telling you to think your way out of this.”

 

They all simply stared at her, the revelation she’d just given them taking precedence over the pressing issue at hand. “Come on, you lot,” she muttered, her true, huskier voice taking over the Rose persona she’d been putting on the entire evening, “I ain’t gonna kill ya, I won’t kill anyone unprovoked.” That was a lie, but she figured they didn’t need to know that.

 

“Think, please,” she begged them, “For starters, we need to get some lights going. There’s got to be some sort of power somewhere.”

 

The first person to respond to her was Zach, “There’s nothing I can do,” he told her, “Some captain, stuck in here pressing buttons.”

 

“Then you’ve got to press the right buttons,” Rose replied, “That’s what the Doctor was telling you to do. He was telling you to think your way out of this.”

 

“They’ve gutted the generators…” Zach muttered, then his voice brightened, “But the rocket’s got an independent supply! If I could reroute that… Mister Jefferson? Open the bypass conduits, override the safety.”

 

Jefferson immediately began to obey his captain’s orders, walking over to another panel, “Opening bypass conduits, sir,” he replied, flipping a switch. 

 

“Channeling rocket feed in three, two, one.. Power…” the captain announced, and not a second later the room was illuminated by the bright overhead lights. 

 

Rose applauded, “Alright, there we go then,” she said happily, “What about strategy nine?”

 

“Not enough power,” Jefferson told her bitterly, “It needs one hundred percent.”

 

Rose shook her head, “Alright, then you and I, Danny and Zach are gonna have to figure another way out,” she replied, then she turned to Toby, who was standing there with his arms crossed over his chest, staring blankly at the ground, the evil still just barely there inside his eyes, she swallowed nervously as she approached him, “Toby, what can you do?”

 

“I’m not a soldier,” he protested, “I can’t do anything.”

 

“But you’re the archeologist,” she retorted, “What can you tell me about the pit?”

 

Toby looked around at all of them for a moment before his eyes landed on hers once again, and a hint of that wickedness slipped into his voice as he spoke, “Nothing,” he replied, the lie fairly evident, “We can’t translate the language.”

 

She laughed, “See, I know when I’m being lied to,” she replied, deciding to push at whatever hold the Beast had on the archeologist, “Tell me the truth. What do you know about the goddamn pit?” she growled.

 

The man looked at her contemplatively, “Well, maybe…” he muttered under his breath.

 

“Maybe what?” she asked, “Tell me.”

 

“Since that thing was inside my head, it’s like the letters have started making more sense,” he confessed. 

 

Rose gave him a nod, “Right then, get to work,” she ordered him, “Anything you can translate, just, anything.” She turned to Danny next, “What about you, Danny… Danny boy… Dan? You’re in charge of the Ood. Anyway of stopping them?”

 

It spooked her just how much the real Rose was going along with her being in charge of the group. How well both women fit into the role. Just this once, the blonde on Demon’s Run wasn’t protesting her actions. In fact, half of the thoughts she’d had so far on this situation had come from the true Rose. They’d been working together as a team, and if she were being honest, it was incredibly useful. She supposed it had been something she'd wanted. She'd asked the Rose on Demon's Run for this moments earlier, but she hadn't expected the cooperation on the level she was getting it. Apparently Rose _could_ recognize when she needed to stop fighting the ganger. 

 

“Well, I don’t know, there could be some viruses I could use,” he told her, “Wipe out the telepathic field connecting them…”

 

Rose grinned, “Brilliant, mate,” she replied, feeling a twinge of guilt through her connection with the other Rose, “Let’s get on that, the sooner we get control of the base, the sooner we can get out of here, bring up Ida and the Doctor. I ain’t letting the Beast claim  _ my _ victory.”

 

Danny nodded, then the two of them walked over to the monitor, and the man in charge of the Ood began to type busily, searching through their database for ways they could take down the Ood. “There’s all sorts of viruses that could stop them,” he explained, “Trouble is, we haven’t got them on board.”

 

“Oh, yeah, just name everything we haven’t got, why don’t you?” Rose asked sarcastically, “Come on, what have we got? There’s got to be something we can use. What is it?”

 

Suddenly the screen beeped, and the word “affirmative,” flashed before them, and Danny laughed in delight, “Oh my god, it says yes,” he told Rose excitedly, “I can do it. Hypothetically, if you flip the monitor, broadcast a flare, it can disrupt the telepathy. Brainstorm!”

 

Rose grinned, “So what happens to the Ood?” she asked. 

 

“It’ll tank them, spark them out. I’d have to transmit from the central monitor though, in Ood habitation.”

 

“That’s what we’ll do then,” she replied, satisfied with what they’d found, “So, then, Mister Jefferson,” she walked over to the head of security, and leaned an arm on his shoulder, “Sir, anyway out?” She looked over his shoulder at the monitor before him, where a series of what looked like underground tunnels were being displayed. 

 

“Just about,” he told her, “There’s a network of maintenance tunnels running underneath the base. We should be able to gain access from here.”

 

Rose smiled in understanding, “Ventilation shafts,” she observed. 

 

He shook his head, “No ventilation,” he replied, “There’s no air. They were designed for machines, not life forms.”

 

“But,” Zach’s voice interrupted from overhead, “I can manipulate the oxygen field from here. Create discrete pockets of atmosphere. If I control it manually, I can follow you through the network.”

 

The ganger could’ve kissed him. She understood now why the Doctor had been so delighted with these people. They truly were brilliant… Oh, now she’d started using his words. She truly did need to kill him soon. “Right, so we go down, and you make the air follow us by hand,” she confirmed.

 

“You wanted me pressing buttons,” Zach replied exasperatedly. 

 

“I did ask for it, yeah,” she told him, “Anyway, work out a route to Ood habitation.” She wanted to say more, but the door bolts sparked again. The Ood were getting too close to them for comfort. Their eight minutes were nearly up. 

 

She took in a deep breath, and rushed back over to Danny, ignoring Zach’s announcement that he was filtering air into the tunnels beneath their feet. “Danny, have you got this figured out yet?” she asked.

 

“Just about, I need another minute,” he replied. 

 

“We haven’t got another minute. Jefferson, Toby, get the floor open, we’ve got to be down there the second Danny gets this virus.”

 

The two men nodded, then set to work on opening a piece of the grating. They got it open in seconds, then held it in position as they all stared down the monitor, waiting for that damned virus to download onto a flashdrive of sorts Danny had inserted into the computer when Rose had spoken to Jefferson. “Hurry up, Danny,” Toby muttered.

 

“Hold on, just conforming,” the boy replied, then he grabbed the orange flashdrive, and rushed over to the group, “Put that in the monitor, and it’s a bad time to be an Ood.”

 

“Okay, Danny you go first,” Jefferson ordered him, “Then you, Miss Tyler, then Toby. I’ll go last in defensive position. Now, come on. Quick as you can!”

 

With that, the four of them piled into the tunnels, each making room for the next one as they rushed down, with Jefferson slamming the grating shut behind them just as the Ood entered the room.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Reviews?


	23. The Satan Pit: Impossible Escapes

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was so much fun, but boy, is it long! But it's worth it because I won't be able to update for the next couple of weeks. I've got finals coming up, and I need to pass chemistry (It's a cursed science, actually needs to be thrown into a black hole, fuck chemistry). Anyway, once that's all over, I'll be updating pretty much daily, (I'm super excited for the climax of this fic, and the ending, and pretty much everything that comes after the end of this chapter) Anyway, here goes nothing.

Rose groaned as she lowered herself into the tunnel, and took a deep breath in. The tunnel smelled like something had crawled in it and died. Both Roses were left reeling in disgust from the intensity of the stench, and the false Rose was fairly certain she would vomit at some point during this adventure. “God, it stinks,” she commented, then she looked over at Danny, who didn’t look much happier than she did, “You alright?”

 

“Yeah, I’m laughing,” he replied sarcastically, then he spoke into his wrist com to Zach, “Which way do we go now?”

 

“Just go straight ahead,” Zach told them, and the four people in the maintenance shafts began to crawl forward, “Keep going until I say so.”

 

Rose looked around, trying to find something to distract herself from the putrid odor that surrounded them. The foulness of it nearly had her eyes stinging with tears as they landed on the sight ahead of her, which was presently Danny’s ass. It wasn’t a terribly great one, either, “Not your best angle, Danny,” she told him cockily.

 

“Oi, stop it,” Danny retorted, tossing an angry glare back at the ganger.

 

“I don’t know,” Toby said from behind her, “Could be worse.”

 

“Oi!” Rose cried, feeling slightly belittled by the fact that the devil himself had just insulted her bum, “Don’t knock it, mate.”

 

Danny laughed, “Doesn’t feel so good now, does it?” he asked.

 

The ganger threw him a glare, not caring that he wouldn’t see it, or that it wasn’t exactly a clever response. Then the four continued on down the tunnel, Rose still stewing in her anger. The bloodlust was once again making its rise within her, and she worked on overtime to press it down as she crawled. It didn’t work, her vision was still increasingly lining with red, and it seemed that no effort to suppress it was working. “Come on,” she whispered to herself, “Keep it together.”

 

“What was that?” Jefferson asked from behind Rose.

 

“Nothing,” she replied, “Just trying to stay calm. This place isn’t exactly making me happy, you know?”

 

“Me either,” Danny confessed ahead of her.

 

“Oh, believe me, we noticed,” Toby shot back, “It stinks in here.”

 

“Oi!” Danny cried, “Like you’re so happy yourself!”

 

“No, I’m not, but at least I’m not stinking.”

 

“Knock it off,” Jefferson growled at them, “This isn’t the time or the place to be arguing like this.”

 

Rose shot Jefferson a grateful look, then the four of them continued down the tunnels as Zach fed them directions. “Straight on until you find junction seven point one,” Zach told them, “Keep breathing. I’m feeding you air. I’ve got you.”

 

 _We know_ , Rose thought, _otherwise we wouldn’t be fucking breathing._ Wow, she was on edge. This adventure was slowly proving itself to be too much for her. The bloodlust was more intense than ever. She tried to remind herself that it was necessary to keep her alive, but that thought wasn’t doing much to comfort her. If anything, it was the real Rose’s more calm demeanor that was helping her through it. She found herself truly grateful to the Demon’s Run girl for somehow managing to not lose her shit during all of this. The ganger was ready to let her vision line red as she blacked out, and killed everyone around her, damn survival and the devil to hell.

 

At last, they came upon a blockage in the tunnels with “7.1” written on it. They’d arrived where Zach had told them to go. “We’re at seven point one, sir,” Danny announced into his com as they all sat down, and caught their breath while they waited for perrmission to be allowed into the next junction.

 

“Okay, I’ve got you,” Zach replied, “I’m just aerating the next section.”

 

There was a series of groans from the frustrated group, and Rose leaned her head back against a wall with a sigh. “Fucking hell,” she muttered.

 

“Rose?” Jefferson asked, causing the ganger’s head to snap to attention, and her eyes stared straight at him, “What has the Doctor done? Why has he got a kill order on his head?”

 

“Yeah, I was wondering that, too,” Danny confessed, then upon seeing Rose’s slight glare at him, he added, “What? If I’m working with an… assassin… there’s just certain things I want to know.”

 

The ganger swallowed, “I can’t say,” she replied, “But I can tell you this: he’s my first and only target, which means no one else is supposed to die.” Danny, Toby, and Mr. Jefferson all tensed at her phrasing, clearly none of them were fans of the “supposed to die,” part of her sentence. She scooted forward, and stared at all of them, “Listen, he’s my first and only target,” she told them, “None of you are at risk.” She couldn’t help the way her eyes flicked to Toby when she said this. Knowing he still had that thing inside of him made him the sole exception to this rule, but she couldn’t voice that out loud. She needed to have some advantage over the Beast.

 

“So why have you got to kill the Doctor?” Toby inquired, looking at her with those still slightly wicked eyes.

 

Rose shook her head, “The Beast already told you part of it,” she explained, “‘This one knows me as I know him, the killer of his own kind,’ it said. And that’s not all of it, either...  But I can’t explain. With that thing listening… If the Doctor somehow gets out of this, I can’t have the Beast telling him. It would destroy my mission… Everything my boss worked so hard for.”

 

Jefferson looked worried, “The killer of his own kind… What does that mean?” he asked in response.

 

The blonde sighed, but before she could answer  they could hear a loud bang, and their heads snapped back in the direction they’d come from. “Mr. Jefferson, what was that noise?” Rose asked worriedly.

 

“The junction in habitation five’s been opened,” Zach explained, “It must be the Ood, they’re in the tunnels!”

 

“Mind opening the gate, then?” Danny asked.

 

“I’ve got to get the air in,” Zach replied.

 

“Are they close?” Rose asked, eyes scanning the area behind them, expecting to see a group of red eyed Oods racing behind them, closing in on them until they ended the lives of the humans. She shuddered at the thought, “Zach?”

 

“I don’t know, I can’t tell,” the captain told her, “I can’t see them. The computer doesn’t register Ood as proper life forms.”

 

Rose scoffed, “Are you bloody serious?” she asked, “I realize they’re slaves, but they’re still very much alive… Don’t you need ways of keeping track of them? Bleedin’ idiots, the lot of you!”

 

“Is now really the time to chastise us for what life forms we keep track of?” Toby muttered, staring at Rose begrudgingly.

 

“Suppose not,” she replied, then she leaned her head back, “Mind opening the gate now, Zach?”

 

At last, the gate opened, and the four of them crawled through, heading swiftly for the next junction. “Turn left, immediate left,” Zach told them, and they didn’t hesitate to obey.

 

“The Ood, sir, can’t you trap them?” Jefferson asked, “Cut off the air?”

 

“Not without cutting off yours,” Zach replied disappointedly, “Now, Danny, you need to turn right, and go fast, Dan, they’re going to catch up.”

 

Suddenly Jefferson turned around, and aimed his gun behind them, “I’ll maintain defensive position,” he told the others.

 

Rose stopped crawling, allowing Toby and Danny to crawl ahead of her, “Are you bloody serious?” she asked, “You can’t stop them, it’s pointless.”

 

“Miss Tyler, that’s my job,” he replied, “You’ve got your task, now see to it.”

 

The ganger shook her head, “Maybe the Doctor’s okay with leaving people behind, but that doesn’t mean I am,” she confessed, “Come with us. Just keep looking back to shoot now and then, yeah?”

 

Jefferson looked at her, and an obvious internal battle raged in his eyes before he began to crawl in the direction of the next junction, and Rose was quick to move ahead. The two quickly caught up to Danny and Toby just as the sound of the Ood’s crawling entered their ears. “Move!” Rose cried, “They’re on our heels!”

 

They picked up their pace, and within a few seconds, they came upon junction eight point two. Rose was panting as she leaned against the wall, and when she pressed her hand against her chest, she found her heart was pounding just a little too fast. She took in several breaths to calm herself down, grateful that the bloodlust hadn’t found its way back to the surface.

 

“Eight point two,” Danny announced, “Zach! Open eight point two!”

 

“I’ve got to aerate it!” Zach protested.

 

“Danny, be quiet,” Jefferson muttered.

 

Rose groaned, “Danny, if you don’t quit complaining, I will slap you into the black hole,” she growled, “He’s going to open it eventually.”

 

Danny didn’t seem to listen to her words. If he did, he ignored them, and he began to bang on the door as if that would somehow help them. It wouldn’t. The door stayed closed, and Rose’s bloodlust began to rise again as Danny’s fist met the door again and again.

 

A moment later, the door finally opened, and Rose pushed past Danny to crawl through eight point one, and the four of them continued crawling until they reached the next junction. Rose shot Danny a glare every so often, hoping that the mysterious Beast would off him randomly so she wouldn’t be tempted to do it herself.

 

When they finally reached nine point two, Danny once again moved his wrist com closer to his mouth, but this time, Zach beat him to it, and the junction began to open with a bang. They prepared to crawl through it as soon as it lifted up, but this particular junction, behind the door they saw a couple of red eyed Ood staring straight at them, ready to kill.

 

“Fuck!” Rose cried, “Move back!”

 

The four made a swift retreat, heading back the way they came as quickly as they could. “Back!” Rose continued to shout, “Move back!”

 

“We can’t go back,” Jefferson reminded them as they continued their retreat, “The gang point’s sealed off, we’re stuck.”

 

Feeling panic rush over her, Rose looked up, and saw another piece of floor grating above her. She grinned wickedly, then stood, and pushed it up, providing them with a new means of escape. The ganger jumped up into the room they’d arrived in, and turned back to help the others up. “Come on,” she begged them, “Get up!”

One by one they all got up as the Ood grew closer and closer until they were a few feet away from Toby, and Rose called out to him as she knew he was facing certain death, but then something odd happened. The archeologist stared at the creatures as they approached him, and leaned forward to look at them before he reached up for the other three, and screamed, “Oh, god, help me!”

 

The other two reached down to grab Toby, but Rose reached for the gun Jefferson had given her. She aimed it at him as soon as he was pulled up, and Jefferson shut the grating, the sound of the gun cocking alerting the three men as she stared down the archeologist.

 

“Rose, what the hell are you doing?” Jefferson asked, but his question was lost to her ears, for she was distracted by something another of her five senses was detecting. Her eyes locked onto Toby’s, noticing that evil in them was now burning just under the surface like it had right before the Beast had first spoken to them. There was a trace of red in his irises, and a sinister touch to his entire demeanor. She knew the look well, she wore it daily.

 

She stared him down, “I don’t know if you even can be killed, but I’ll be damned if I don’t try,” she hissed at him.

 

“Rose, what the hell are you talking about?” Danny asked, “It’s just Toby. You saw it, it left him…”

 

The false Rose shook her head, “No, it’s not,” she replied confidently, keeping the gun sternly aimed at what was once Toby Zed, “I’m telling you, it’s not. Didn’t you see the way he hesitated when we were escaping just now? Can’t you see it in his eyes? He hasn’t been himself since that thing took hold of him, I’m telling you. I had my suspicions before, but I think they’re confirmed now.”

 

The other two stared at Toby, who was feigning shock as he looked at Rose, “But, I’m fine, I’m me, I swear,” he protested, “I don’t need to die. It’s gone, I promise.”

 

“You’d say that, wouldn’t you?” she asked, “You’ve got a charade to keep up, Toby, but I won’t fall for it.”

 

“Listen, Rose, we haven’t got time for this,” Danny said exasperatedly, “We’ve got to get to Ood habitation, and get this chip in right now. They’re coming.”

 

Rose stared at Toby once again, seeing that evil just behind its eyes, and the invisible smirk it was now leaving on his face. Oh, how she knew that look. “Fine,” she replied, lowering her gun hesitantly, “But as soon as the Ood are down, we’re dealing with this.”

 

“Sounds like a fair deal,” Danny replied, pointing in another direction, “It’s this way.”

 

With that said, the four ran off in the direction Danny had just pointed, and headed down the corridor to where Ood habitation was. A minute later, they rushed through the door to the habitation, and Danny’s fingers fumbled around in his pocket for the orange chip they’d brought with them.

 

“Get it in!” Rose shouted at him, still frustrated with him from his actions in the maintenance shafts earlier, “Transmit!”

 

“I’m trying, I’m trying,” Danny replied just as the Ood began to follow them into Ood habitation, “I’m getting at it.”

 

“Danny, god damn it, we don’t have all day,” she muttered, “Get that thing transmitting!”

 

At last, a look of victory appeared on Danny’s face, and the boy produced the orange chip from his pocket, and inserted it into the monitor. Suddenly the Ood telepathic field was reduced to a basic zero, and all of the Ood that had just entered the room clutched their heads in pain as they collapsed to the ground.

 

“We did it!” Rose cried, glad that Danny had finally done something right, “You did it!”

 

“Zach, we did it, the Ood are down,” Jefferson announced into his wrist com, “Now we’ve got to get Ida and the Doctor… If it’s even possible. I’d like to try to reach them one last time before we go up.”

 

“So would I,” Zach replied, “Alright, I’m on my way.”

 

Rose paused, and stared at Toby, “We’ll be there in a moment,” she told them, once again pulling the gun on the archeologist, “We’ve got a little something to deal with first.”

 

Toby began to pant nervously, and he looked between the three of them, “Wait, wait, wait, don’t…” he breathed, “I’m serious, don’t. It’s not in me anymore, I swear.”

 

The blonde scoffed, “But it’s there,” she told him, “You already know it’s there, it’s in your eyes. It’s always been in your bloody eyes.” She took a cautious step toward Toby, and swallowed nervously before she spoke again, “I saw you back there, you leaned in toward the Ood before you came back to us. What were you doing?”

 

“I was in shock,” Toby uttered out, “I thought I was going to die, and I couldn’t stop staring at those eyes… All red and stuff… It was frightening.”

 

An exchange of glances occurred between the other three as they debated whether or not to believe him, “Shock?” Rose repeated in disbelief, “You’re tellin’ me that whatever I saw was just… shock? Bull shit.”

 

“Rose, I really don’t think it’s in him,” Danny said in Toby’s defense, “I think it passed into the Ood. Think about it. He hasn’t had the red eyes and the markings since it went into them. He’s fine now.”

 

“I agree,” Jefferson replied, “Matter of fact, I think you’re the one who’s in shock.”

 

Rose kept her gun trained on Toby, not removing her gaze from him for even a milisecond, “I can’t believe this,” she muttered, “Are you willing to risk your lives over this? Whatever this thing is, it is powerful. It could kill us at any second, and it hasn’t. It wants us to live for a reason, and whatever that reason is, it’s not good. He’s better off dead.”

 

“You are not killing Toby on my watch,” Jefferson hissed at her, “That’s an order.”

 

“I don’t work for you,” she snarled back at him.

 

Another gun cocked, and finally Rose tore her gaze from Toby to stare at Jefferson, who now had his gun aimed at her, “Lower your weapon,” he commanded her, “Lower it now.”

 

Rose looked between him and Toby a couple of times, then sighed before she lowered her weapon. She didn’t want to die. If she died, she wouldn’t be able to complete her mission on the off chance that the Doctor would be able to return to them, and she’d get the chance to kill him. “Fine,” she replied with a sigh, “But if I’m right, I’m shooting him quickly and without hesitation.”

 

The others gave her a nod, even Toby, then they proceeded to leave Ood Habitation, and headed back to where they’d launched the capsule. The others seemed delighted when they reunited with Zach, but Rose couldn’t be bothered to fake a smile for the captain. He hadn’t even managed to piss her off yet, she was just beaten from this adventure.

 

Jefferson was swift to return to the com they’d used to talk to the Doctor and Ida, and he picked it up with an urgent flourish before speaking into it, “Ida?” he asked, “Ida? Doctor? Can you hear me?”

 

“The coms are still down,” Zach announced staring at the monitor, “I can patch them through to the central desk, and boost the signal. Just give me a minute.”

 

A groan was emitted from Danny’s lips, and Toby’s a moment later. Jefferson looked as though he were tempted to repeat their actions, but the elder man stayed silent, and leaned on the machine with a stern expression on his face as Rose watched.

 

“I’m sure they’re fine,” she replied, trying to offer him a sense of comfort, “The Doctor survives just about anything and everything he comes up against.”

 

“Apparently he’s not supposed to survive you,” the head of security noted.

 

“No, he’s not,” she replied, “I’m the exception to the rule.”

 

“Rose, I know you said you didn’t want to tell us at risk of telling the Beast,” Jefferson began, “But please, tell us why you want him dead.”

 

“It’s not me,” she replied, “Well, it is me, but I can’t help it. It’s the way I’m wired.”

 

“Wired?”

 

“‘The false girl,’” she repeated from the Beast’s words, “My part of his little prophecy. I’m engineered to kill him. They’ve filled my mind with their ideas… Their plans to kill him… I was made to kill the Doctor.”

 

“Why do they want him dead?”

 

She was about to tell him, but that was the moment they heard Ida’s voice loud and clear through the coms, and Rose breathed a sigh of false relief. “Doctor, are you there?” she asked, taking the com from Jefferson, “Can you hear me?”

 

“He’s gone,” Ida told her dejectedly.

 

“What do you mean he’s gone?” Rose asked, slightly concerned and slightly hopeful for what that meant, feeling the real Rose’s heart racing faster and faster through their connection. The tone of Ida’s voice made it sound like nothing good had happened to the time lord.

 

“He fell into the pit,” Ida explained, “And I don’t know how deep it is. Miles and miles and miles.”

 

“Oh, shit,” Rose breathed, “Ida, I’m sorry, but what do you mean by ‘he fell’?” Her heart raced faster than it ever had. Did Ida mean to imply that the Doctor was dead? No… That wasn’t possible… It couldn’t be possible… But what else explained Ida’s tone of voice and his fall into the pit which was miles and miles and miles deep? No one survived a fall like that. In all likelihood, the time lord was dead, and the mission was complete. She hadn’t even gotten to claim that victory. A part of her was bursting with joy and victory, and another was fuming.

 

“I couldn’t stop him…” the scientist replied, then there was a pause before she spoke again, “He said your name… He wanted to tell you something, but he said you already knew.”

 

Rose scratched her head. She couldn’t quite imagine just what it had been that the Doctor would’ve wanted to tell her that she already had known. But the last words Ida seemed to be implying furthered the mountain of evidence against the idea that the Doctor was still alive. “The hell does that mean?” she wondered aloud before Zach reached over from the monitor, and took the microphone from her hands.

 

“I’m sorry, Ida,” he said quietly, “There’s no way of reaching you, no cable, no backup. You’re ten miles down. We can’t get there.”

 

“You should see this place, Zach,” she replied, ignoring the hopeless news he’d just delivered to her, or deflecting her grief. Rose guessed it was likely the latter. “It’s beautiful. Well, I wanted to discover things. Here I am.”

 

“We’ve got to abandon the base,” Zach told her, “I’m declaring this mission unsafe. All we can do is make sure no one ever comes here again.”

 

“But we’ll never find out what it was?”

 

“Maybe that’s best.”

 

“Yeah.”

 

“Officer Scott…”

 

“Just go… Good luck…”

 

With that, Ida cut off the coms, and Zach gave a great sigh before he turned to his crew. “Right then,” he breathed, looking at the remaining four, “You lot close down the feed links,” he ordered them, “Get the retrotropes online, then get to the rocket and strap yourselves in. We’re leaving.”

 

The four of them were quick to set about on the tasks assigned to them by the captain. Fifteen minutes later they were strapped into the rocket, and Zach was running startup procedure on their escape. Rose had spent most of that time staring distrustfully at Toby, still wanting to shoot him down, but not wanting the others to forcibly remove her from her one path to freedom.

 

Sure, the Doctor was destined to die, and may have been dead already, but she still had to report back to Demon’s Run. She had to complete the final part of the mission, confirm him dead. She could only hope that they’d accept the death wasn’t by her hand.

 

“Dislocating B clamp,” Zach announced, “C clamp. Raising blu-nitro to maximum. Toby, how’s the Negapact feed line?”

 

“Clear, ready to go sir,” Toby replied, looking at a monitor above him, “For God’s sakes, get us out of here!”

 

Rose tossed him another glare, looking as though she were ready to throw him into the black hole with her bare hands, but caught Jefferson’s eye in the seat in front of her, and decided against it. She slumped back against her seat, and crossed her arms as Zach announced lift off, and they zoomed away from the black hole to their safety.

 

“Can I just make a request?” the ganger asked, interrupting the silence that fell between the four as they rushed away from Krop Tor.

 

“What’s that, then?” Zach asked, turning briefly to look at her.

 

“I need you to drop me off somewhere else, not Earth,” she told him, “It’s where my headquarters are located. I’ll need to tell them the Doctor’s dead.”

 

“Oh…” Zach replied, “Wait… All that stuff over the coms…”

 

“I wasn’t joking,” Rose told him.

 

Suddenly, Toby began to laugh, and the three passengers in the rocket stared at him curiously as the archeologist snickered at seemingly nothing. Rose cocked her head to the side, “What could possibly be funny?” she asked, “I did say I wasn’t joking.”

 

Toby shook his head, “Just… We made it… We’re alive…” he told her, the evil burning more vibrantly than ever behind his eye. Rose felt a shudder run through her as she realized what had happened, what the Beast was planning.

 

It was inside of him, and it was just pretending to be Toby in order to get a ride on the rocket and ride out into the universe to spread destruction and chaos. She’d seen it. She’d spotted the evil all along, and let the others convince her not to try and stop him when she could’ve done something about it earlier. Now the Doctor was dead, but they’d brought another horrific evil into the universe. One that was even worse.

 

“Shit,” she breathed.

 

“What is it?” Jefferson asked.

 

“It doesn’t make sense,” Rose muttered, “We escaped, but there’s a thousand ways it could’ve killed us. It could’ve ripped the air out, or, I don’t know… burned us… But it let us go… Have any of you stopped to wonder why?”

 

They all hesitated, but Toby was openly glaring at her, willing her to shut up with her eyes. She glared right back. They were now fully aware of each other, and Rose was left hoping the others would catch her hint that their ordeal was very much not over yet. There was still more to deal with.

 

“Hey, Rose, do us a favor? Shut up,” Toby muttered, then he looked back up at the monitor facing him, “Almost there, Captain, we’ll be out of reach of the black hole in forty, thirty nine, thirty eight…”

 

Rose ignored him as he continued the countdown, hoping she could convince the other members of the crew to do something about Toby in the remaining thirty or so seconds she had before it was too late. “Come on, you lot,” she breathed, “I’m serious. We should be dead, but we’re not. Think about why that is.”

 

The other three looked at her uneasily, and just as Toby was reaching ten seconds, there was a violent bang, and the rocket began to shake.

 

“What happened?” Danny asked, panicked, “What the hell was that?”

 

“What’s he doing?” Toby asked, a look of genuine worry growing on his features, “What is he doing?”

 

“We’ve lost the funnel!” Zach announced, looking up at a monitor, “Gravity collapse!”

 

Rose took in a deep breath, “What does that mean?”

 

“We can’t escape,” he replied, “We’re heading straight for the black hole!”

 

The ganger felt her blood run cold, and if there were ground, she was certain it would’ve just been ripped out from under her. She was going to die. They were all about to die. She’d never get back to Demon’s Run, she’d never finish the mission. Not only had she not been the one to kill the Doctor, but she’d soon be killed herself. “Holy shit,” she breathed, holding on to a nearby handle for support. She wasn’t sure she’d be able to keep herself upright.

 

“It’s the planet,” Danny announced, looking up at Toby’s monitor, “It’s moving! It’s falling!”

 

Rose’s swift-beating heart beat even faster as she looked over at Danny, and stared at Toby, who was sat between them, and staring at her. Those symbols once again covered his face, and his irises were red. She stared at him in horror, “What the hell?”

 

“I am the rage!” Toby cried, his voice that of the Beast’s as he screamed at them.

 

“Zach, it’s Toby, do something!” the ganger shouted over the Beast’s angry screams.

 

“And the bile… and the ferocity… I am the Prince and the Fall and the enemy. I am the sin and the fear and the darkness…”

 

“It’s him! It’s him! It’s him!” Danny cried, and at that point, even Mr. Jefferson had turned around and stared in horror as Toby revealed his true nature to the crew.

 

“Zach…” Jefferson said worriedy, looking at the captain as though he were at a complete loss for what to do. Rose couldn’t blame him. So was she.

 

“Stay where you are!” Zach warned his crew, “The ship’s not stable!”

 

Suddenly Toby did something new; he breathed fire. The yellow flames burst from his mouth and licked at the air in front of him. Rose pressed herself tightly against the wall next to her, and stared on in horror, unaware of the downward trek her hand was making toward her jacket pocket, toward the gun that didn’t have bullets that only impacted upon organics. The ganger remained unaware as her hand pulled the gun out of the jacket, and only realized she had it in her hands when she’d turned off the safety, cocked it, and aimed it straight at the rocket’s window.

 

What the…? She thought, then she realized what had caused this, and why. The real Rose had thought of it. It was mad, it was impossible, and it was going to probably get her killed, but she had to do it. The Demon’s Run Rose was right. They needed to do this, and they needed to do it now. Rose took in a deep breath, “Go to hell,” she hissed, then she wrapped her finger around the trigger, and gave it that tiny little pull it needed to fire the bullet.

 

There was a loud bang, then the window in front of them shattered, and the empty void of space pulled at the crew of five. Rose held her breath as she reached over, and undid the clasp on Toby’s seatbelt, then she watched as he flew out of his seat, out of the rocket, and toward the black hole.

 

“Emergency shield!” Zach cried, then a darkened piece of glass descended in front of them, stopping the pull of space, and allowing them to breathe once again, “We’ve lost the gravity funnel, we can’t escape the black hole.”

 

“But we stopped Toby,” Rose reminded him, “Or, the Beast… whatever. At least he won’t be able to kill anyone else.”

 

“Some victory,” Zach muttered, “We’re going in.”

 

Danny looked up at the monitor, and his face fell in horror, “The planet’s lost orbit! It’s falling!” he shouted, then a moment later he added, “We’ve lost the planet.”

 

Zach sighed, then looked up at his monitor, “Accelerate,” he commanded the rocket, “I did my best. But hey! The first human beings to fall inside a black hole. How about that? History.”

 

The rocket then continued to zoom toward the black hole, and Rose clenched her eyes shut as she waited for the inevitable crushing sensation. Or would it be a crushing sensation? Would the black hole destroy the emergency shields first, or would it crush them straight away? How fast would it happen? Every question she could ask flitted in front of her head as death grew closer and closer… until suddenly…

 

There was a sudden, and overwhelming silence that fell over the group. The rocket’s engines grew quiet, and there was a pulling sensation felt by the remaining four of the crew as the rocket began to turn… But how?

 

“What happened?” Rose asked, “How are…?”

 

“We’re turning,” Zach announced in disbelief, “We’re turning around… We’re turning away!”

 

A buzzing noise filled their ears, like feedback from a radio, and the Doctor’s voice filled the ganger’s ears, “Sorry about the hijack, Captain, this is the good ship Tardis,” he told them, filling Rose with a mixture of joy and hatred.

 

The others gave half hearted cheers, and some odd glances at Rose before he continued to speak to them, “Now, first thing’s first, have you got a Rose Tyler on board?” the Doctor asked.

 

Rose quickly put on her mask of enthusiasm, “Don’t say anything,” she whispered to the others, “Please, this mission is vital. You’ll thank me later.” The others exchanged a series of looks before each one gave her an affirmative nod, and Rose gave then a smile in return before she addressed the Doctor, “It’s me!” she cried, “I’m here, I’m on board… Where are you?”

 

“I’m just towing you home,” he explained, “Gravity schmavity. My people practically invented black holes.Well, in fact, they did. In a couple of minutes, we’ll be nice and safe. Oh, and Captain? Can we do a swap? Let’s say you give me Rose Tyler, and I give you… Ida Scott? How about that?”

 

“She’s alive?” Zach asked incredulously.

 

“Yeah!” the Doctor replied, unable to hide the glee in his voice, “Bit of oxygen starvation, but she should be all right. I couldn't save the Ood. I only had time for one trip. They went down with the planet.”

 

The crew hung their heads as they heard the Doctor’s news, and recounted all of their previous losses. “Ah! Entering clear space,” the Doctor announced, “End of the line, mission closed. What do you say we do that swap, then, eh?”

 

“Sounds like an excellent idea to me,” Zach replied, a smile wide on his face, then he turned and looked back at Rose, and lowered his voice, “Rose, are you sure about him?”

 

She nodded, “Killer of his own kind, remember?” she asked, “And all those other things he’s done that I couldn’t mention? It only gets worse as you go down the line. He’s got to be stopped. I promise you. Just don’t say anything about this to him. He can’t know. I know he got you out, but sometimes bad men do good things.”

 

The crew thought for another moment, then Zach sighed again, and shook his head, “Alright,” he told her, as the sound of the Tardis materializing sounded right outside the rocket’s exit door, “We’ll let it go.”

 

“Zach!” Danny cried, “She’s an assassin. She could be lying.”

 

“I don’t know, I trust her,” Jefferson replied, “All she’s done is help us.”

 

Rose sighed, and pressed her fingers to her temples as the real Rose’s anger grew. The woman on Demon’s Run wanted nothing more than to scream to them that they needed to tell the Doctor while they had the chance. She fought hard against it, pushing the true Rose away, and taking in a deep breath as the doors to the rocket opened to reveal the Tardis doors, “I promise it’ll be better if you say nothing,” she told them, “It’s the right thing to do.” Then she undid her seatbelt buckle, and made her way to the Tardis.

 

Not a moment later Ida Scott walked into the rocket, and Rose appeared inside the Doctor’s ship, closing the door behind her to find him beaming at her. She returned the smile, then the Doctor opened his arms for her, and she ran right into them, letting him lift her off of the ground, and swing her from side to side in pure joy.

 

“I missed you,” he whispered, causing Rose to laugh, which he mistook for her matching his joy with her own.

 

She grinned as he set her down, and pulled just far enough away to see her face, “I was only gone a few hours,” she protested, “Couldn’t have missed me too much.”

 

The Doctor giggled, “Rose Tyler, I’ll always miss you,” he breathed, “Never doubt that.”

 

The ganger looked into his eyes, not surprised by all of the sincerity she saw within them. It made her want to vomit as she took in the warmth in the look he was directing at her. He was so far gone in his feelings for Rose, it astounded the ganger. She could only wonder why he hadn’t detected her true nature yet, but she was certainly glad he hadn’t. “I won’t,” she replied, gently pressing a brief kiss to his lips.

 

They smiled at each other for a moment, if it had been the real Rose, she would’ve said they were basking in the feeling of being in each other’s arms. But they certainly weren’t. At least, the ganger wasn’t. She had no understanding of why the real Rose felt so intensely for him, but she did.

 

Eventually, the Doctor let go of Rose, but he held on to her hand as he led her around to the other side of the console, and he pressed a black button, “Zach?” he called out, “We’ll be off now. Have a safe trip home.”

 

“But, Doctor, what did you find down there?” Ida asked, “That creature, what was it?”

 

“I don’t know, never did decipher that writing,” the Doctor said, though there was a hint of a lie on his face, as he spoke, “But that's good, Day I know everything? Might as well stop.”

 

“What do you think it was, really?” Rose asked, squeezing his hand, curious to see if he’d at least give the answer to his faithful companion.

 

“I think we beat it,” the Doctor said, “That’s good enough for me.”

 

“It called me ‘the false girl,’ said I was gonna die in battle.”

 

“Then it lied,” the Doctor told her, “Cause it also said it would live…. Right… Onwards, upwards, Ida? See you again, maybe.”

 

Ida gave him the most lighthearted of chuckles, “I hope so,” she replied.

 

“And thanks, boys!” Rose shouted to Jefferson, Danny, and Zach, “Thanks for everything!”

 

“Hang on, though, Doctor,” Ida ordered him before he could dematerialize the Tardis, “You never really said. You two, who are you?”

 

The Doctor looked at Rose, “Oh, the stuff of legend,” he replied, then he pulled on a lever, and they were off into the time vortex.

 

As soon as they left, the Doctor began to remove the orange space suit complaining about the difficulty involved in getting it off. Rose laughed, then stepped forward, and began to help him out of the suit as he struggled. With her help, the suit came off much more quickly, and the Doctor was left in his usual pinstripes and converse.

 

“See? That wasn’t so bad,” Rose assured him, reaching up a hand to caress his cheek, “Stop complaining.”

 

The Doctor grimaced, “But it was bad, Rose, it was awful!” he protested, “I’ve been in that thing for hours!”

 

Rose laughed, “Yeah, I suppose that could be a problem,” she confessed, “Especially when we’ve got unfinished business…?” She gave him Rose’s signature tongue in teeth grin as she looked up at him, reaching for his tie before she pulled his lips to hers.

 

This time the Doctor did not respond to the kiss. In fact, he ended it shortly after it began, pulling away, and taking Rose’s hand in his, “I’m sorry,” he replied, looking her in the eyes, “But right now… It’s not the right time.”

 

She nodded slowly, and took a step back, “It’s fine, I understand,” she replied, then she swallowed, “Should we just get to another round of fluffy cuddling instead?”

 

The Doctor grinned, “I thought you’d never ask,” he replied with a chuckle, then he squeezed her hand, and led her into the Tardis corridor. The ganger felt an overwhelming sense of relief. At least for that moment, everything was fine. It was all perfect. The Doctor hadn’t discovered her plan, she wouldn’t be caught, and he was still on track to die. In that moment, everything was perfectly fine, but life had a way of making sure that things never stayed that way.

 

For another three weeks, the Doctor and the ganger continued traveling through time and space. The ganger grew increasingly restless, her bloodlust showed up everywhere they went, and someone almost always paid the price. Her restlessness only grew when the Doctor continually interrupted their more intimate moments. In over a month together, the two still hadn’t had sex, which deeply disappointed the false Rose. But in over a month together, he also hadn’t caught on to who she was, and with Rose’s memories in her hands, she could almost guarantee that he never would.

 

However, those three weeks eventually ended in the middle of the night with the ganger in the Doctor’s arms. She was shivering from the nightmare she was having. A very real nightmare, which would’ve only been a nightmare if the events taking place within it weren’t happening to the real Rose…

 

**Demon’s Run Asteroid…**

 

The real Rose stirred in her capsule, crying out to the ganger for mercy even though the horrid flesh creature was asleep. The ganger was still actively trying to block her out, but it was to no avail. Rose was stronger than that. She just wasn’t strong enough to tell the Doctor what had happened to her, and it made her sadder each day when she remembered what she could never hope to do.

 

Those hopes suddenly soared to new heights, when she heard a beeping noise, and for the first time in a month, her eyes blinked open, then clamped shut, blinded by the white light of the room. “Ugh,” she groaned, her voice hoarse from having not spoken in a month. She heard another beep, and the restraints on her arms and legs released themselves, and the capsule’s cover slid away. She blinked slowly, attempting to adjust to the light before a figure invaded her field of vision, and blocked her from seeing it.

 

The figure wore a face covering mask, and she couldn’t recognize him, but she knew he was a man the moment he spoke, “Rose, I’m so sorry,” he said softly, reaching his arms into the capsule, “Hold on to me.”

 

Rose groaned again, and weakly lifted her arms to wrap them around his neck as he lifted her from the capsule, and pulled her out of it, “This might hurt a little,” the voice told her, “And I’m sorry, but it’s the only way we can escape.”

 

The blonde could barely process what he’d said before there was suddenly a flash of light, then the world felt as though she were on the loop da loop on a roller coaster. She took in a deep breath as soon as it ended, tempted to keel over and pass out then and there, but she held on to consciousness for a few seconds as she was laid down on some sort of cushion, and she looked up at the man who had rescued her once again.

 

The man reached up, and removed the mask to reveal his identity to her. Though her vision was still blurred, she’d know that warm smile anywhere. She felt the corners of her lips twitch in response, weakly forming a smile of her own as she stared up at him, “Mickey?”

 

**The Time Vortex that very same night…**

 

The ganger sat bolt right up in bed, suddenly feeling empty and hollow. It was even worse than when they’d been trapped in the parallel universe and she’d been cut off from Rose then. Now Rose was gone. She’d escaped. There was no trace of the connection between the two. No hint of Rose’s memories in her brain, no matter how hard she searched. Panic washed over her, and she grasped at the sheets in the bed as she pulled her knees to her chest. “Oh shit,” she breathed, “oh, shit, shit, shit, shit, shit!”

 

Beside her, the Doctor stirred, and before she knew it, he too was sitting up, wrapping an arm around her shoulders, and pulling her to him, “What is it?” the time lord asked, “What’s wrong? Did you have a nightmare?”

 

She nodded, “Yeah, yeah,” she replied, taking in a deep breath to calm herself down, “I’m fine, go back to sleep.”

 

The Doctor sighed, “Do you want to tell me about it?” he asked, “Can’t come true if you tell me.”

 

Rose shook her head, and let herself lean into his touch, knowing she had to now if she had any hope of keeping up her charade, “No, it’s fine…” she lied, “I’m fine…”

  
_Shit_ , she thought as she listened to the beating of the Doctor’s hearts inside of his chest, wishing now more than ever that they’d stop, _shit, shit, shit_ …

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I also updated the archive warning, because I've written some of the Doomsday chapters, and it gets a little bit intense then (I don't want to spoil too much). It won't get that way until the tail end of Army of Ghosts, but I felt like it'd be better to warn people now rather than later. Anyway, reviews are always welcome, and I'll see you guys in probably two weeks... two and a half... I'll be back probably at the beginning of May.


	24. Rose's Awakening

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm back! Finals are over, the semester is over, and I started a new job working with doggos so my life's been hella busy. Sorry this is so late, but I wasn't quite sure what to do with this for a minute either. It does contain a bit of Torchwood canon, but it's not overwhelming, so here's the chapter in all its glory, a follow up on where the ganger is is coming soon... Gotta update another story first.

The light in the room was blinding, and Rose let out the faintest of groans as she turned her head away from it. In truth, it probably wasn’t that bright, but she hadn’t seen light of any sort in a month. She needed time to adjust to even dim lights. 

 

Still the sight of it sent joy coursing through her veins. She was alive. She was free. The ganger no longer had control over her body. She’d never have to watch that foul thing kill again. At last, she’d be able to save the Doctor, and prevent his murder from happening. If she had her way, Madame Kovarian would never threaten him ever again. 

 

_ Okay, Rose, _ she thought,  _ let’s try opening our eyes again, eh? _

 

Slowly, the blonde blinked one eye open, then the other, and she stared ahead at the room ahead of her. It was still blurred thanks to her having had her eyes closed for a month, but she could tell it was some sort of office space, and she was lying on some sort of sofa. On the other side of the room there was a desk, and behind that desk, a man sat sleeping. A man who wasn’t Mickey. He had his arms folded over his chest, and his head was tilted back as quiet snores left his lips. 

 

Rose coughed a few times, and the man woke up. He stood alert and at attention as he rushed over to her, kneeling by her side. Once he was closer, she realized who he was. She sure as hell knew this man, but she hadn’t seen him in a very long time. “Jack,” she croaked, “It’s you!”

 

The captain nodded, and pulled Rose into a hug, which she weakly returned, “Hi, Rose,” he said softly, then he set her back down on the sofa, “Try to take it easy, you’ve been out for a while.”

 

The blonde almost laughed, “Tell me about it,” she attempted to say, but she more mouthed the words rather than said them, and Jack simply looked at her sympathetically. 

 

“You haven’t used your voice in a month,” he said kindly, “Like I said, take it easy,” he added, then he reached onto the desk behind him, and grabbed a glass of water, “Here.”

 

She weakly reached over, and took it, finding that she barely had the strength to hold even the small glass of water, and bring it to her lips. Somehow she managed, and seconds later the cool liquid was rushing down her throat, relieving the fire she felt within her as it went. She gulped it down ungracefully, some of it spilling out of the glass and onto her clothes, but she didn’t care. She needed it. All of it. 

“I’m gonna let you rest your voice,” Jack began, “But I think you’re owed some sort of run down explanation for how I’m here.”

 

Rose began to sip at the water, now, realizing she’d begun to run out of it, but knowing she needed to keep a steady stream of it flowing into her body. She simply nodded at Jack, and gave him the okay to continue. 

 

“Rose, when we went to the year 200,100, I died from dalek gunfire,” he explained, “As you can see, I’m fine now. All of this,” he gestured to himself, “Is in one piece. Especially the fun bits.”

 

The blonde in front of him shot him a slightly annoyed glance, and the captain laughed lightly before he continued his story, “But by the time I realized what had happened, the Tardis was leaving. You and the Doctor were leaving,” he told her, “I was too late. I tried to use my vortex manipulator to get out, but I wound up in the nineteenth century. Nowhere near where you two would be. So I had to wait, and I’m still waiting. Waiting for him to come back… And I wound up here… But that’s another story. Best to wait until Mickey gets back for that one. Torchwood’s not easy to explain.”

 

Rose raised an eyebrow up at him. Why did the name Torchwood sound so familiar to her? It took a moment, but the name came to her. It was the name of the house where the werewolf had attacked Queen Victoria. But what was that name doing in 2007? She could only wonder as she gave into the urge she’d had to gulp down the rest of the water, and she downed it in one large gulp, then she looked back at Jack.

 

Jack didn’t say anything about her abnormal way of drinking, he simply waited until she’d finished the glass, then pulled it away from her lips with a sigh. “Feel better?” he asked. 

 

“Much,” she said, her voice still sounding a little hoarse, but it was now functional, and that was all that mattered, “Where’s Mickey?”

 

The captain sat beside her on the sofa, “He’s gone out to get food,” he told her, “And a fake ID.”

 

“What does Mickey need a fake ID for?” Rose asked in confusion, “And how the hell is he back here? I heard the Doctor talking with…”

 

“The ganger?”

 

“Yeah… Her… It’s supposed to be impossible to come back,” Rose reminded him, “How is Mickey here?”

 

Jack stayed quiet for a moment. He simply reached out, and held her hand, saying nothing, then when he spoke, he was almost nervous, “We can talk about that later,” he told her, “We’ve got a lot of things we need to talk about, but it’ll have to wait. I want you to get stronger before we face this.”

 

Rose nodded, “Okay, I can wait on that,” she told him, “But where’s my mum? Have you told her yet?”

 

The man in front of her shook his head, “No, we haven’t,” he replied, “We didn’t want to tell her until we’d gotten you out of wherever the hell they were keeping you. Some asteroid, I think. Mickey said it was called ‘Demon’s Run.’”

 

Demon’s Run. So that was where she’d been all that time. While the ganger was traversing the galaxy with the Doctor, she was trapped on a god damned asteroid in the middle of what she assumed was nowhere. She groaned, “God, I should’ve fought the soldiers,” she muttered bitterly, trying to fight back the tears that threatened to fall from her eyes as all that had happened truly began to hit her, “If I’d just fought them, none of this would be happening. We’d be at peace… I wouldn’t be wondering if he’s dead right now.”

 

Jack squeezed her hand, “He’s alive, I promise,” he told her, “Mickey said that they were talking about the ganger needing to keep her murder drive under control before she killed him when he got there. What does that mean?”

 

Rose sniffled as the memories of all the ganger’s kills flooded her brain, “The ganger has a bloodlust,” she explained, “They engineered her to kill the Doctor, but they messed up. She started getting the urge to kill anyone who even slightly pissed her off… My neighbor… Reyna, she was innocent and she just…” she let loose a sob before she could finish her sentence, “And there was nothing I could do but watch as she murdered her. She bloody  _ murdered  _ her. She didn’t stop there, either, she killed a man in 1953 just because he fell in with an alien, she bragged about killing some woman in the parallel world, a slew of murders after concerts, a whole bunch of these creatures, the Ood on another planet, and I lost count over the next three weeks after that… She killed them. Dozens of people throughout time and space. She killed them all.”

 

Jack nodded, “I know,” he said softly, “Not about the ones on other planets. I sure as hell suspected, but thanks to modern technology, we’ve been tracking your ganger’s actions throughout time. The past, at least. 1912, 1926, that Elvis concert in 1956… All these murders look the same, but no one thought to connect them since they were all far apart. 1967, 1979… 1986… 1993… your neighbor in 2007… a few in the year 2000, but they were all in different places. Still not connected enough for anyone to notice. If it weren’t for Mickey, I wouldn’t have noticed either, but all in all, she’s killed over a dozen people, and that’s just in the past.”

 

A half laugh, half sob escaped Rose, and she wiped away the tears that began to flood her eyes, “Dozens more in the future,” she promised him, “And on other planets? Oh my god she killed so many people. She’s got to be stopped before she kills him.”

 

Jack tugged on Rose’s hand, and slowly, weakly, she sat up, and let her friend pull her into a hug, “And I had to watch them all,” she breathed, “All of them. I watched them all die. And she didn’t stop there either…”

 

“What are you talking about, Rose?” Jack asked, a hint of anxiety in his voice. 

 

She sniffled, and fought back more tears, “She… She…” the blonde sighed before she continued, “You know how I feel about the Doctor. You saw it. She took those feelings, cause she had access to my memories, we were connected, and she… She… She started toying with him, and it worked, ‘cause he told her how he felt about me. He finally said it and it wasn’t even me.”

 

Jack began to stroke her hair as she continued speaking, saying nothing as he held his long time friend, “And then she tried to have sex with him. And she almost succeeded multiple times, and each time I was screaming in her head, ‘don’t do it, don’t do it’ but she kept going. But he never let them go that far… There was always this look he’d get, then they’d stop. I was always grateful, but I never understood it…”

 

“Maybe deep down he knew,” Jack theorized.

 

“What?”

 

“Deep down, he knew that wasn’t you. He’s not as daft as he looks.”

 

Rose chuckled softly, and rested her head on Jack’s shoulder, “But he’s just daft enough,” she replied, “He’s been falling for it the whole time. The only person who didn’t fall for her charade in the whole thing was-”

 

Speak of the devil, and he shall appear. At that moment, the door to the small office opened, and in walked Mickey Smith carrying two pizza boxes, and a large, orange envelope. He had a smile on his face that instantly brightened when he saw Rose, awake and alive, sitting on the sofa with Jack. 

 

“Mickey!” she cried, reaching a hand out for him.

 

“Rose,” he said, sounding relieved as he bent down, and wrapped his arms around her. She returned the hug, and tightened her grip on him as much as her weakened body would allow her to. The two laughed wholeheartedly as they embraced each other, Mickey eventually lifting Rose off of the ground, and spinning her around before he set her back down on the sofa, and sat down beside her.

 

“Mickey, how the hell are you here?” Rose asked, “How did you find me?”

Mickey let out a deep breath he hadn’t known he’d been holding, and rested a hand over one of hers, “It’s a long story,” he said, “But it involves a lot of universe hopping, and vortex manipulating, and possibly a paradox.”

 

Rose raised her eyebrows, “You caused a paradox?” she asked. 

 

“Oh, don’t start, you sound like him,” Mickey protested.

  
“Well, someone’s got to be the Doctor,” she replied. 

 

“And that’s got to be you, then?” Mickey asked, a grin spreading widely on his face. 

 

She grinned, “Isn’t it always?” 

 

The two shared another laugh, then Mickey looked up at the Captain, “What have you told her?” he inquired, appearing almost nervous as he locked eyes with Jack. 

 

Jack shifted beside her, “I told her about me,” he said, “Well, a very run down version of it, we can save the full version for a rainy day,” he added with a laugh, “But I got right down to talking about the ganger. I haven’t told her what you and I are planning yet. I wanted to wait until you were back. It’s something we’ve got to do together.”

 

Mickey nodded, “Okay then,” he replied, taking in a deep breath before he looked at Rose, “Time we tell you everything. If you’re ready to hear it, that is.”

 

The blonde sat up straight, her curiosity overriding the difficulty she’d been feeling in moving up until that point, “I am,” she replied, “I’m ready to hear everything. But… How the hell did you find me?”

 

The two men sitting by her sides looked at each other before they looked at her, “To tell you that, I’ve got to start with another story,” Mickey began, “See, I was in the parallel world, and the cybermen- do you know what they are?”

 

Rose nodded, “Yeah, I used the ganger’s memories to catch myself up on what happened,” she replied, “What? That connection went both ways.”

 

Mickey laughed before he continued the story, “The Cybermen were still out there, it wasn’t just London, remember? It was the whole world Lumic had factories in. We wanted to stop them, but then the public got involved. There was outrage. People said they were still alive, and we should help them. They didn’t understand that these things weren’t going to be reasoned with.”

 

“What happened then?” 

 

“All that time, the Cybermen made plans, infiltrated this world’s version of Torchwood, that’s Torchwood One, you’re in Torchwood Three, but we’ll explain that later. Anyway, the Cybermen mapped themselves onto this world, and vanished. So our version of Torchwood developed the technology to follow them, ‘cause we knew that whatever they were planning to do here couldn’t be good.”

 

“And that’s how you’re here?” Rose asked.

 

Mickey gave her another nod, “Yeah, that’s how I’m here,” he replied, “As soon as I got here, I had to try and find you. Torchwood, well, the Torchwood on the parallel world, had given me one mission, to find out what the Cybermen were doing, but I had another mission. I had to find you, and I had to find the Doctor to save him, and have him save the universe… universes… Well, at this point I don’t think it’s just him, it’s you, too.”

 

Rose blushed, “It’s really him for the most part,” she said modestly, “I’m just help.”

 

“He sure as hell doesn’t see you that way,” Jack told her, “God the way you two used to look at each other… It was more sickeningly cute than puppies. I never stood a chance.”

 

“With?”

 

“With either of you.”

 

“Jack!”

 

Mickey cleared his throat, bringing the two of them to attention, and both of them muttered swift apologies before they turned back to face him. “Back to how I found you,” Mickey started, pulling out a small necklace from underneath his t-shirt, revealing a yellow button of sorts at the end, “I used this little dimension hopping device to get here. I was the first one through. Figured I’d get a kickstart on my to-do list. So I tracked down this universe’s Torchwood, and infiltrated it. They think my name’s Samuel and I’ve got a doctorate in physics.”

 

Rose laughed, “Close enough to a mechanic, right?” she asked teasingly. 

 

The man sitting beside her grinned, “So then I used their resources, and boy have they got plenty,” he told her, “There was this old time thing-”

 

“Vortex manipulator,” Jack finished for him, “He found a vortex manipulator in Torchwood One’s storage. Turns out it was my old one, I’d lost it on a visit there a while back. Thanks to Mickey, I got it back. One thing he forgot to mention: he appeared right on top of the rift, which is right where we’re sitting. Torchwood Three is right underneath the rift. I saw him and I thought, ‘well, that’s weird, Mickey Smith’s supposed to have been missing for the last four months,’ so I ran up there, and brought him inside.”

 

“We caught up with each other,” Mickey explained, “I told him everything that had happened, and he told me how we could find you. Pointed me in the direction of Torchwood One when we realized Torchwood Three didn’t have anything. Sent his team on a mission in Siberia so no one would notice what we were doing. They’re still there now, far as I know. Anyway, I found the vortex manipulator, and brought it back to Jack, who did some sort of thing with the computer… I don’t understand it, and his explanation is even more confusing. Don’t give me that look, Captain Cheesecake, it is.

 

“So he did the weird computer thing, and we started searching for anything odd. See, the manipulator was broken, but it still had access to the time vortex, so it let us search throughout all of time and space for anything that was off. It took us an entire week of searching, and we nearly gave up, but then we saw a single file from a base on Demon’s Run Asteroid. Just once piece of data, but it was enough to give us hope.”

 

“What was it?” Rose asked, voice cracking slightly from her still dry throat, “What’d you find?”

 

“We found a file describing the use of this thing called ‘the flesh’ which was creepy enough, but then further down we read ‘subject obtained, London, 2006,’ and I thought, ‘what are the odds’ and so I used my handy little dimension hopping device and my computer skills to channel some of the vortex manipulator’s power into the device, allowing me to travel in time to find you, cause this file? From quite a few years into the future.”

 

Rose raised her eyebrows, “Oh my god,” she breathed, “And how far away was I?”

 

“Twenty thousand light years,” Jack replied, “I was nervous about sending Mickey that far into the future and that far into space, since the vortex manipulator was broken, but he insisted, so I let him go, and four hours later, he comes back into my office, and he sets you on the couch. I ran up here as soon as I saw, but you were passed out by the time I got here. Not only that, but the vortex manipulator had sparked out. Any travel involving that thing was no good.”

 

Rose let out an enormous breath she hadn’t realized she’d been holding, “Holy shit,” she whispered, wrapping an arm around each of them, pulling them tightly against her, “Thank you, thank you both.”

 

“I’d do it again,” Mickey replied, “If it saves you, I’d do it again in a heartbeat. Though, this time I was actually doing it partially to save him, ‘cause he can’t die. I’m not his biggest fan, but I reckon the universe is a safer place with him in it.”

 

“It is,” Rose agreed, “We’ve got to stop her, but she could be anywhere by now. They could be on another planet far, far into the future and we’d have no way of knowing.”

 

Mickey shook his head, “No, he’ll come back,” he told her, “‘Cause this is where our plan comes in.”

 

Rose’s eyebrows furrowed in confusion, “What do you mean?” she asked. 

 

“Remember those Cybermen that came through this world?” Mickey asked in response, then upon receiving a nod from Rose, he continued, “Well, they’re only partially coming through as these sort of ghosts. They’re all over the world. They’ve become part of people’s everyday lives, including the fourth person we’re involving in this plan.”

 

“And who’s that?”

 

“Jackie Tyler,” Jack answered, “She doesn’t know what’s happened, so we’re going to tell her tomorrow, then she’s going to call Rose-well, the ganger- and ask her to come home. That part depends on whether or not the ganger answers.”

 

“She will,” Rose replied, “Without my memories, she’ll get desperate, she’ll start doing anything she can to seem like me.”

 

“Excellent, that means we can move forward as planned,” Jack said with a grin, “Once we get the ganger here, the Doctor will be here. But there’s no telling when exactly he’ll show up.”

  
“He’s not the greatest driver,” Mickey muttered, “People were still accusing me of killing Rose even after she came back.”

 

“Sorry,” Rose whispered.

 

“Anyway, that’s where you two come in,” Jack explained, “Mickey’s already infiltrated Torchwood One with my help, and you’ll do the same once you’re strong enough. You two will continue working on Mickey’s mission with the Cybermen, and once the Doctor returns to the Powell Estate, he’ll see those ghosts everywhere, and they’ll lead him right to Torchwood One, which is another part of this story.”

 

“How much have the Doctor and the ganger missed?” Rose asked in disbelief, “I know she’s been keeping him from going back to see Jackie for a while, but this is absurd. It’s only been a month for them.”

 

The captain shook his head, “It’s been six months maybe seven here,” he told her, “That’s enough time for a change like that. Enough time for the people at Torchwood One to notice the hole created by the Cybermen, the very same one that let me come through here. They made it worse, they started the whole ghost thing. They do what they call Ghost shifts, where they open that hole and let them through. I’m hoping we can kill two birds with one stone. Save the Doctor, and stop the Cybermen.”

Rose breathed heavily, “That’s a lot of hoping,” she said, “But I’m on board. I’ll do anything to save him. I meant that.”

 

Mickey and Jack laughed together again, “We know, Rose,” Mickey replied, “We’ve both spent enough time around you and the Doctor to realize.”

 

The blonde blushed again, then she frowned, and looked at Jack, “But what about you?” she asked, “What’s your part in this plan?”

 

Jack sighed, and took her hand, “I’ve got another destiny, Rose,” he replied, “It’s time bullshit, but I basically can’t see him again until next year. Or so I’m told by some of the long gone Torchwood Three employees.”

 

She stared at him in disbelief, “So you can’t help us,” she stated, staring plainly at him. 

 

“All I can do is come up with a plan, but once the Doctor’s here, you’re on your own,” he told her, “I’m sorry. I wish I could do more, but I think with the two of you together, it should be enough to save him. I believe in you, Rose. You too, Mickey.”

 

“Thanks, boss,” Mickey replied, then he wrapped an arm around Rose, “You alright?”

 

“Yeah,” she replied, “It’s just a lot to take in.”

 

They sat in silence for a moment, absorbing all that had just happened within the span of about fifteen minutes. Rose could barely process it all, with her brain as frazzled as it was. It was so much, and all because of one fateful night outside the Powell Estate when she’d gone out to the Tardis on her own. “All this because of one mistake,” Rose said quietly, breaking the silence they’d fallen into. 

 

“What?” Mickey asked.

 

“The night before you saw the Doctor and I?” she inquired, “Right before we went to the school? That’s when it happened. The Doctor and I were fixing mum’s drier… that’s all we were doing, fixing a drier, and he needed his tool kit so he could do it properly. I offered to grab it for him, which involved walking out to the Tardis by myself. I figured it was only two blocks, it wouldn’t hurt anyone, but when I walked out of the Tardis, there were at least a dozen men with futuristic guns pointed at me, and I didn’t fight them hard enough. They grabbed me.”

 

Jack rested a hand on her knee, “Rose, if you’d fought them, you would’ve been shot,” he told her, “And then they probably would’ve killed him anyway. At least this way you’ve got a fighting chance of saving his life.”

 

Mickey nodded in agreement, “He’s right. This way… It’s awful, but it gives us all a chance to live past this. All we can do is hope that she doesn’t kill him before we can get him to Torchwood.”

 

“Should we even wait until tomorrow, then, to talk to my mum?” Rose asked, “Seems like the longer we wait, the higher the chance is that that evil woman will give the kill order.”

 

“Kill order?” Jack asked worriedly.

 

Rose sighed, “A while ago, back when they were on that spaceship, the one connected to pre-revolutionary France?” she asked, looking at Mickey as she spoke, “The woman in charge of this whole operation, I don’t know her name, the ganger addressed her as Madame, but she told the ganger to wait on the murder. I was almost waking up, and there were control issues over who controlled the ganger’s brain. I was stronger than they thought I’d be. I fought hard against the ganger, and that’s why they wouldn’t let her kill him just yet. He’s still alive because of that. But now that we’re not connected? They’re gonna want to send that kill order out at the first chance they get, and she won’t hesitate to fulfill it.”

 

Jack and Mickey stared at each other for a moment, then they both looked back at Rose, “Do you think you’re able to move?” Jack asked. 

 

Rose frowned, then she shifted, and stretched her legs out in front of her, moaning slightly at how good that felt. She hadn’t been able to do that in a month. She stretched her arms after that, and slowly pushed herself off of the couch, wobbling a little bit on her feet before using the desk for support. “I can move well enough,” she told them, “I just want to see my mum.”

 

The captain nodded, “I’ll grab the Torchwood van,” he said, standing up, “Mickey, help her out, meet me by the fun entrance in about two minutes.”

 

Mickey stood up as soon as Jack left, and held out a hand to Rose, “Come on, let’s get going,” he told her, “We’ve got a lot to do, and god knows what time to do it.” With that, the two rushed out of Torchwood Three, and toward the Powell Estate. They had a time lord, two universes, and a world to save.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Reviews would be lit.


	25. The Kill Order

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this took so long, but (commercial voice) life comes at you fast. And I got busy. I dropped my phone in the toilet and had to wait a while to get a new one, so that was a pain in the ass, but I've got one now, and it's made my writing life a lot easier. Anyway, here's the new chapter, which is the last one before we dive into the finale chapters. I did skip over Love and Monsters and Fear Her, but I felt like this was the direction the story was taking, and it didn't involve either of those episodes. Here goes...

**The Time Vortex around the same time…**

 

The ganger’s heart only raced faster as she listened to both of the Doctor’s beating inside of his chest. She gulped nervously, trying not to let on just how terrified she was. What the hell was she going to do without Rose’s mind to provide memories for her? She was completely lost without Rose’s mind. She’d only just managed to fool the Doctor in the parallel universe, and she hadn’t fooled Mickey at all. 

 

She didn’t know how long she’d be able to keep this up. All she could do was hope that the kill order came in before the Doctor could be warned about who he’d really been traveling with for the past month. 

 

Not caring that it was the Doctor who was holding her, she grasped at his t-shirt, trying to find some sense of stability as her entire world fell apart. All of Rose’s memories were suddenly gone. She had none of them. She would fail in a matter of days if the kill order didn’t come in, and it couldn’t as long as they were floating in the time vortex. They needed to land somewhere Madame Kovarian could find them. Somewhere the kill order could finally be given. Where the mission could at long last be completed. 

 

“Are you sure you’re all right?” the Doctor asked suddenly, interrupting the ganger’s thoughts. 

 

That was when she noticed just how tightly she was gripping his shirt, and she let go of the soft fabric, letting it fall back against his skin in a wrinkled form, “I’m fine,” she replied, “Go back to sleep. You don’t have to deal with my nightmares.”

 

The Doctor’s hand began to stroke her hair, and just this once, she let it happen without a thought of how much she hated it. She leaned into his touch, mentally high fiving herself. It was definitely a great Rose performance, he was buying into it now more than ever. Hope began to fill the ganger. Perhaps she didn’t need Rose Tyler after all. Perhaps she was just that skilled. 

 

“Rose, I want to,” he told her, “Deal with your nightmares, that is. I don’t want to see you suffer.”

 

_ Oh, if only he knew what’s happening with the real Rose, _ the ganger thought, then she turned, and looked up at him in the dim light, “You mean it?” she asked, putting the best innocent look in her eyes she was capable of, “‘Cause like I said, you don’t have to.”

 

The Doctor pressed a kiss to her forehead, “I want to,” he repeated, “Now, tell me, what’s going on?”

 

Rose sighed, “It’s really not a big deal.”

 

 

The Doctor shook his head, “Rose, if you’re having nightmares, I can help you,” he offered, “I really can, just say the word.”

 

This time, he really couldn’t help her. Her nightmares weren’t about the creature they’d just defeated or some past childhood trauma. They were about her ability to complete a mission. What she’d just seen had been a very real scene in which someone had taken away her source of information.  A rather vital source, too. Nothing could replace the real Rose’s memories. Rose didn’t keep around many photo albums on the Tardis, and whatever photos she did have were of her and the Doctor. 

 

The ganger sighed, “I know I usually tell you everything,” she said softly, taking his hand in hers, “But my head’s just not in the right place right now.” It wasn’t entirely a lie. Even if the truth was something she could tell him, her head was nowhere near in the right place to tell him what was happening to her. 

 

The Doctor nodded slowly, “Are you sure?” he asked kindly, “I just don’t want to see you suffer if there’s something I can do about it.”

 

“I promise, there’s nothing you can do at the moment,” she replied, “Just leave it. Go back to sleep.”

 

“Do you think you’ll be able to sleep?”

 

“No.”

 

“Then I’ll stay up with you,” he offered, “We don’t even have to sit here. We could go somewhere, if you want. Got all of space and time waiting outside those doors,” he flicked his head in the direction of the console room, then smiled down dorkishly at her. 

 

The real Rose would’ve found it endearing, but the ganger was fighting back rage now that the initial shock of being separated from her doppleganger had worn off. But the fear that that rage would turn to bloodlust set her straight, and she gave him a nod, “Okay, let’s do something, then,” she told him with a forced smile in return.

 

The Doctor’s smile broadened, then he began to lean down, and the ganger barely hesitated to meet him in the middle, locking her lips with his. She never complained about kissing him, it was probably one of the few perks of her job, but this time she actually  _ needed  _ to do it. If she rejected him now, he’d sense that she wasn’t Rose, and if that happened before she actually faced him down with a weapon, the mission would fail. 

 

Rose slowly shifted so that her body was now facing his, and she continued to kiss him as they descended into the pillows. She ran a hand through the time lord’s hair, gripping it a tad tighter than she normally would given the stress she was under, but it still earned her a satisfied moan from the Doctor. Her other hand traced the contours of his chest as she imagined all of the places she’d be able to either stab or shoot him once the kill order was given. 

 

She was so lost in thought, she barely even noticed when the Doctor’s arms wrapped around her waist, and he rolled them over so that he was now on top of her. Once she did notice, the action reminded her of the first time they’d ever been together, when she’d learned for the first time just how enamored the Doctor was with Rose Tyler. 

 

Her own words rang through her head,  _ “Mmm, taking control now, I see,”  _ she’d said to him once he’d gotten on top of her, then shortly after that their moment had ended when she’d pushed him further by commenting how severely overdressed they were. She could only wonder just how far they’d get if she just this once let him have complete and utter control of the situation, maybe then they’d finally go somewhere instead of stalling midway through.

 

She let him deepen the kiss, allowing his tongue access to her mouth, and his leg a place between hers as that night’s would-be first time continued to escalate. Her hands, meanwhile, found themselves gripping his upper back, staying away from anywhere she’d previously touched that had caused him to pull away. 

 

Unfortunately, it seemed that this would just be another high school style makeout session. The Doctor made no further advances, and continued kissing her the same way he had been for the next five minutes. The ganger didn’t complain, though, since she’d nearly forgotten why she was having problems, why they were awake, and why they were kissing in the first place. 

 

Accepting that nothing further would happen, Rose pulled away from the passionate kiss, panting as she did so, but smiling up at him all the same, “Well, that’s one way to distract me, I suppose,” she told him, “Definitely my favorite way.”

 

The Doctor chuckled, and softly brushed a piece of her hair off of her face, “Mine, too,” he replied, “Feeling any better?”

 

In truth, she wasn’t feeling better. She’d still lost her connection to Rose. The mission was still in jeopardy. She still needed to receive that kill order, which meant that they needed to land somewhere as quickly as was time lordly possible.

 

But she still gave him a nod, and answered, “Yeah, much better, thanks,” with that tongue in teeth grin she’d mastered in her month of pretending to be Rose. 

 

The Doctor returned the grin, then he leaned down, and pressed a much gentler, much less intense kiss to her lips. She reached up, and caressed the base of his skull, beginning to pull him back down to her, when suddenly the sound of her mobile ringing interrupted the moment, and she turned to glare at it. 

 

“Seriously?” she asked, “It’s the middle of the night.”

 

“It’s only the middle of the night for us, Rose,” the Doctor reminded her, “Whoever’s calling might be doing so from three in the afternoon.”

 

“You’re right,” she replied, then she groaned, “I’m gonna get that.”

 

The Doctor nodded, then slowly rolled off of her, and laid back in the bed as she reached over onto the nightstand on her side of the bed, and grabbed the incessantly ringing mobile. Alarm bells went off in her head when she saw the caller ID belonged to Jackie Tyler. Putting on a false Rose act for the Doctor was one thing, but putting one on for Rose’s mother? That was a whole other can of worms she was nowhere near prepared to open. The one time she had pretended to be Rose in front of the real Rose’s mother was when she’d still had access to her memories.

 

Swallowing her nerves, the ganger opened the phone, and answered the call, “Hello?” she asked, “Mum?”

 

Jackie Tyler’s voice answered her not a moment later, “Rose, thank god,” she replied, “Um…”

 

“Mum, are you all right?”

 

“I’m fine, I…” her mother paused awkwardly, “I… I just miss you is all. Don’t suppose you’d want to come home any time soon, would you?”

 

Rose thought for a moment. She had no desire to see Jackie. In the few minutes she’d ever spent with the woman, she’d thought her unbearable, but Rose Tyler wouldn’t hesitate. If her mum called, she’d come running. The ganger had to do the same if she wanted the Doctor to buy her act at least, even if she wasn’t quite ready for Jackie just yet. 

 

“Of course!” she replied, “Mum, is something wrong?”

 

“No, no, nothing’s wrong, I…” Jackie paused again, and if Rose were going mad, she would’ve sworn she heard a male voice mumble something before she spoke again, “I’ve got something to show you, though. Lots of changes ‘round here since I last saw you. You and the Doctor might find this one interesting.”

 

“Really? What’s going on?”

 

Another awkward pause. Either something was wrong with the phone connection, or something was wrong with Jackie. Either way, the ganger didn’t like it, not one bit. “... I think this one’s a bit more show than tell, love,” the elder Tyler replied, “Just come by soon, would you?”

 

Though she knew Jackie couldn’t see her, Rose nodded, “Sure, what’s the date?” she asked, “Time too, you know how the Doctor drives.”

 

Her mother’s first response was a chuckle that sounded almost nervous before she replied with, “It’s… half past noon, the twenty first of September,” she told her daughter, “Been six months since the last time I saw you.”

 

“I’m so sorry, mum,” Rose breathed in the most sincere voice she could muster, “I’ll be there as soon as I can, I promise.”

 

“I know you will,” Jackie replied, “All right, I’ll see you later, then. Love you.”

 

“Love you, too,” Rose replied, then she hung up the phone, and turned to face the Doctor, “Found something for us to do. My mum says it’s been six months since I last saw her.”

 

The Doctor sat up and ran a hand through his hair, “Six months?” he repeated, “Blimey, that’s a lot. I take it you want to see her before it becomes twelve?” 

 

Rose’s eyebrows furrowed, not understanding what he was referencing. How could she? She’d just lost access to all of the true Rose’s memories. What exactly did he mean by “before it becomes twelve?”

 

The ganger simply laughed, and gave him a firm nod, “Yeah, I do,” she replied, “Hope you don’t mind.”

 

The Doctor shook his head, “No, not at all, as long as she doesn’t slap me this time,” he told her with a laugh. The ganger gave him an awkward smile at the second reference she didn’t understand, then she gave him a brief kiss, and swung her legs over the side of the bed ready to begin the day. Though she didn’t know it yet, this day was about to be the longest of her life, and by its end, her time with the Doctor would be over. 

 

**The Powell Estate, 2006**

 

Jackie Tyler hung up her cellphone, then turned around to face the three people standing before her, “She’s coming,” she told them nervously, “They both are,” she added, pulling at the neckline of her jumper and panting. 

 

Rose didn’t hesitate to cross the room, and wrap her arms around her mother, “Thank you,” she told her quietly, “Thank you so much.”

 

“That was one of the scariest things I’ve ever done,” Jackie confessed, returning her daughter’s hug, “She sounded just like you, Rose. The resemblance… But it wasn’t you…”

 

The blonde nodded slowly, “I know, mum, I know,” she breathed, then she slowly pulled away, “But if it’ll save his life, it’ll be worth it.”

 

“It’s going to work,” Jack promised them, taking a step toward the Tyler women, “We told them to come a week from now, and knowing the Doctor’s driving, it’ll take even longer than that. It’s the perfect amount of time for Rose to assimilate into Torchwood One.”

 

Rose gave him her tongue in teeth grin, and sighed, “Jack, I know you said you didn’t think I could start until later, but I’m almost fully recovered,” she said, walking toward the captain, “I want to start tomorrow. The longer I’m working there, the better.”

 

The captain opened his mouth to say something, then he slowly closed it, and gave her a nod, “It’s your call, Rose,” he replied, “I’ll let them know tonight.”

 

“Thank you,” she told him, then she looked back at her mother, who was staring blankly at the ground, “Mum?”

 

“Hmmm?” Jackie asked, head snapping up in her daughter’s direction. 

 

Rose walked back to her mother, and once again pulled her into a hug, “I’ll see you next week,” she promised her, “Then I promise I’ll come visit more often.”

 

“You better,” Jackie told her daughter, then she pressed a kiss to the side of Rose’s head, and pulled away from the embrace, “Now, go, save that Doctor of yours.”

 

Her daughter smiled brightly, then she hugged Jackie once more, “I will, mum,” she told her, “And I can’t thank you enough.”

 

“I’d do anything for you, you know that,” Jackie replied, “And I guess that daft, old alien, too.”

 

Rose laughed, then she pulled away from the hug, and turned to Jack and Mickey, “Ready to go?” Mickey asked. 

 

With one last glance at her mother, she nodded, and allowed Jackie, Jack, and Mickey to lead the way to the door to begin their week-- potentially weeks-- long mission to save the Doctor. Though Rose didn’t know it yet, by the end of this very long week, she’d fall asleep in her bed, and she would never feel more alone.

 

**Inside the TARDIS, Janus Asteroid, 39201**

 

The Doctor and Rose had gotten dressed and headed straight for the console room to bring themselves to Jackie Tyler. The time lord had gotten the coordinates set and everything, but then the Doctor had stopped suddenly, and suggested they stop off somewhere else first to buy Jackie a present. He was very serious about not getting slapped again. 

 

That was how he wound up setting the coordinates for a market on Janus Asteroid, claiming that the asteroid was simply the best place to find gifts. “Everything there is basically Jackie Tyler’s fantasy,” he explained to the ganger, “It’s all very her.”

 

“You’re nervous, aren’t you?” Rose asked, shooting him a sly grin, “About seeing her again?”

 

“Am not!” he protested, though if the look on his face was anything to go by, he most certainly was nervous. 

 

He was borderline petrified. The ganger could only ponder why until she realized that they hadn’t seen Jackie since before they’d become a couple. Oh, this was just too good. Now she had another weapon with which to toy with her enemy’s head. The Doctor’s apparent fear of Jackie Tyler combined with his fear of how she’d react to their relationship… She was going to enjoy this. Not that she’d let him know that.      
  


“We haven’t seen my mum since before we…” she made a vague hand gesture that didn’t have much to do with the actual meaning of her sentence, but more so to emphasize her unspoken point, “.... Before we…”

 

The Doctor’s cheeks flushed, “I know,” he replied, walking around to her side of the console room, and taking her hand in his, “But still, six months, and this? She’s going to murder me.”

 

He certainly was getting murdered, but a different Tyler woman would be doing the deed. Rose was entirely certain that Jackie would never actually murder anyone. “She won’t murder you,” the ganger promised him in one of the rare moments in which she actually told the truth, “She doesn’t hate you as much as you think.”

 

The time lord sighed, “Maybe not, but still,” he said, caressing her cheek, “I’ve never been slapped by anyone’s mother before yours. Can’t be too cautious.”

 

The ganger laughed, “Fine, let’s just go, then,” she told him, then she headed toward the Tardis doors, and pushed them open to find herself situated in the middle of a bustling bazaar crowded with a diverse assortment of species. She gasped in delight as she took in high arching steel structures and bright firelight. Torches lined the rows of merchants, casting an orange and yellow glow everywhere she looked. A warm, light breeze blew her hair back, and she closed her eyes, letting it envelop her as she stepped further outside the ship.

 

“What do you think?” the Doctor asked, “Wonderful isn’t it?”

 

Rose’s smile stayed plastered on her face as she turned back to face him, “Yeah, it’s uh, it’s brilliant,” she told him, figuring using his own words would help her with her lack of Rose’s. 

 

It worked, and the Doctor grabbed her hand, leading her into the bazaar with a dopey grin on his face, “Come on,” he said as the two rushed through the crowded asteroid, occasionally pushing past people as they went. 

 

“So what about this place just  _ screams _ my mother?” Rose asked curiously as they passed by a merchant selling a plethora of silver jewelry. 

 

“It doesn’t,” he admitted, “I just needed an excuse to stall.”

 

_ Me too, _ the ganger thought. She definitely needed the excuse more than him. She still wasn’t sure just how the hell she’d be able to pretend to Jackie that she was the true Rose. Mickey, who had known her for almost her whole life figured out who she was in a matter of days. Jackie was Rose’s mother. If she played her cards wrong, her mother would know instantly, and she’d be caught. Hell, there had been something in that phone call just twenty minutes earlier that told the ganger she already knew something…

 

“Rose?” the Doctor’s voice asked, interrupting her thoughts.

 

“What?” the ganger replied, only then noticing that they’d stopped running, and were now standing by a merchant selling odd, steel looking orbs, and she was getting a head ache. Problem was, this didn’t feel like a head ache. This felt like something else… Something very familiar that she hadn’t felt since they were on the spaceship with Mickey a month earlier… 

 

_ Oh no. _

 

“I was just saying I’m gonna get us something to eat,” the Doctor told her, pointing to a shop on the near end of the bazaar, “You coming?”

 

Rose felt a panic run through her. Kovarian’s vortex manipulator chip would transport her to Demon’s Run at any second. She had maybe ten seconds at most to make some excuse for her sudden absence, but then she realized he’d just given her one. She spared a glance at the merchant selling orbs, and gave him a smile, “No, I’m good,” she told him, “Think I just figured out what to get my mum.”

 

The Doctor grinned, “Brilliant, I’ll be back then,” he replied, squeezing her hand, then taking off toward the shop he’d pointed out. 

 

The time lord had left just in the nick of time. Mere seconds after he turned around, Rose felt the headache intensify, and suddenly there she was, back on Demon’s Run in the white room she’d first been created in. She knew it instantly by the overly clean smell it had, like a Doctor’s office. By her side was the empty capsule the real Rose had escaped from just a little while earlier. She reached out a curious hand to touch it, then recoiled when she made contact with the cold glass. 

 

A door opened behind her, and she turned around when she heard the clicking of Madame Kovarian’s heels behind her. “Madame,” she breathed, “I wish I could say it was good to see you.”

 

“I know, ganger,” Kovarian replied, “I trust you know why you’re here?”

 

Rose nodded, “This is it, isn’t it?” she asked, “You’re finally ordering me to kill him? After all this time?”

 

“It’s only been a month,” Kovarian reminded her, “Some have to work with the enemy for much longer.”

 

“Understood, ma’am.”

 

“But, yes, this is it. As soon as you arrive back in the bazaar, you’re free to kill him. But remember, only do it when the time is right. If there’s a chance you’ll get caught, if there’s a chance he’ll stop you, we will fail. Only do it when you are absolutely certain. I can’t know when we’ll get a chance like this again.”

 

“Again?”

 

“Do you think you’re the only plan we’re going to try? I’m not a fool. I’ve got another plan, I’ll just have to wait a bit longer.”

 

The ganger nodded, “Understood, Madame,” she replied, crossing her arms, “Is that all, then?”

 

“Yes, that is all,” Kovarian told her, “Now go, fulfill the mission we’ve worked so hard for. Make us proud. Kill the Doctor.”

 

“I will, I won’t let you down,” the ganger replied, feeling absolutely certain that she wouldn’t as she felt the headache come on again, and she clutched her head as she reappeared back in the bazaar feeling very disoriented. 

 

Mercifully, there was no Doctor in sight, just a few very confused shoppers as they brushed past her in the bazaar. She took a few deep breaths as she composed herself, then turned to see that she was right back in front of the merchant she’d last seen, and the seller himself was staring at her as if she had just shown him her second left foot. 

 

“You…” the humanoid merchant began, pointing a shaky finger directly at her, “You just…”

 

Rose rushed forward, and pulled the credit stick the Doctor had given her on the Tardis out of her pocket, and presented it to him, “I’ll buy anything from you if you say nothing about what you just saw to anyone,” she told him, picking up one of the silver orbs from his collection, “I’ll take this.” 

 

The merchant’s mouth remained open, but he didn’t protest as he tapped the credit stick against something, and handed it back to her. He’d remained slack jawed the whole time, and Rose scoffed before reaching a hand over, and pushing his mouth closed, attempting to ignore the scaly feeling of his skin, “You’ll catch flies,” she taunted him, “But thank you,” she added, gesturing to the silver orb she’d just purchased before turning around to search for the Doctor.

 

It didn’t take the ganger long to find the time lord by the very shop he’d said he was going to. He was wandering around the shops surrounding it with an amazed look on his face, and no food in his hands. “What happened to the food?” Rose asked. 

 

The Doctor shrugged, “Got distracted,” he explained, “Have you seen the bloke who’s selling bottled fire? It’s amazing!”

 

Rose laughed, then held up her new orb, “No, but I found this for my mum,” she told him, “Not sure what it does, but it’s something, and I don’t think she’d fancy bottled fire.”

 

“You’re right,” the Doctor replied, scratching the back of his head, “I really don’t want to know what your mother would do with bottled fire once she found out about us.”

 

The ganger gave him another giggle, then she took his hand, “Come on, let’s get back to the Tardis, I don’t want to keep my mum waiting for too long,” she said, leading him back in the direction of the ship, “We’ve already made her wait for six months.”

 

The Doctor groaned, but followed her back to the ship. The two weaved their way between the shoppers and merchants until they found the Tardis at the far end of the bazaar, and smiles appeared on their faces, both relieved by the sight of the ship. She was finally about to fulfill her mission. She was so close, and once this was over, she would be celebrated, hailed throughout the universe as the woman who defeated the Doctor. Her only regret would be that the universe would lose its best kisser, but it was a small price to pay. 

 

She all but sprinted through the Tardis doors, not caring to shut them since the Doctor was behind her. She skipped jubilantly to the console, “And off to the Powell Estate!” she cried, turning to look at the Doctor as he shut the ship’s doors, and walked up to join her with his eyebrows raised, “What?” she asked, wondering if she’d messed up somewhere, wondering if he knew what was going on with her. Had he figured it out when she was so close to the finish line?

 

“Nothing,” the Doctor replied, “You just seem a little more enthusiastic than usual about visiting your mother.”

 

Rose sighed, then stepped toward him, and rested a hand on his arm reassuringly, “I just miss her, that’s all,” she told him, “I just want to see her again. It’s been an entire month for me and it’s been six for her. That’s a bit too long. I realize children are supposed to outlive their parents, but if we keep going at this rate, she’ll be ninety while I’m still in my twenties.” She mentally high fived herself. That sounded perfectly Rose-like. She could sure as hell face Rose’s mother one last time before she finally fulfilled her mission and ended the Doctor’s life. 

 

The Doctor nodded, “Right, makes sense,” he replied, moving around to the scanner, and setting the coordinates, “To the Powell Estate on what date again?”

 

“The twenty first of September.”

 

“... On the twenty first of September… What time did she say to meet again?”

 

“Half past noon.”

 

“Right then, Rose Tyler, here we go,” he announced, flipping a switch and pulling a lever as he sent them flying right toward Jackie Tyler, and unbeknownst to either of them, right toward the destiny they’d been heading toward since they landed on the wrong Tuesday just over a month earlier.

 

**Torchwood Three, The twenty first of September, 2006**

 

The real Rose woke up on the sofa in Jack’s office for the seventh time in a row to find a cup of steaming hot coffee waiting for her on the desk in front of her. She blinked herself awake a few times, then slowly sat up, and stretched before running her fingers through her hair to catch any tangles that had developed in the night. 

 

Finding none, she slowly stood up, and stretched again before taking the cup of coffee off of the desk, and slowly sipping at it as she walked out of the office, and down to where Mickey and Jack were already talking in hushed tones by a computer. Mickey already had his lab coat on from the work they’d started doing at Torchwood One, and upon further notice, so did she. She’d accidentally fallen asleep in her work clothes again. Oops. 

 

She cleared her throat, and the hushed voices ceased before the two men looked up at Rose slightly awkwardly, “Anything I need to know?” she asked, not liking the way they constantly whispered whenever she left the room. She suspected it had everything to do with the various arguments they’d had over the fact that both men thought she wasn’t ready for this. If there was one thing Rose knew for certain about this plan they’d come up with, it was that she was beyond ready to do whatever was necessary to save the Doctor, and she had recovered physically just fine from her ordeal. 

 

“Nothing much, just running some last minute diagnostics on the Cybermen,” Mickey told her, putting not enough sincerity into his look to make her believe him, “You ready?”

 

She nodded, “Yeah, I’m ready,” she replied, “Beyond ready. I’ve been waiting for the chance to stop her since she first took over.”

 

“Yeah, today’s the day,” Mickey agreed, “We’re gonna put a stop to this once and for all. The ganger and the Cybermen. Two birds with one stone.”

 

“You both know exactly what you need to do?” Jack asked, “We never did draw up a specific plan to get you two to the Doctor. We only did enough to draw him to Torchwood One.”

 

Rose nodded, “I know what we’ve got to do,” she assured the captain, pressing a kiss to his cheek, “Thank you,” she told him, “For everything.”

 

Jack wrapped his arms around her, “I’d do it again,” he promised her, then he broke away from her embrace, and pulled Mickey in for a hug despite his protests, “Good luck.”

 

“Yeah, thanks captain cheesecake.”

 

“That’s beefcake.”

 

“Boys!” Rose protested, “Come on, let’s get going, we’ve got a universe and a Doctor to save!”

 

“Right,” Mickey replied as he broke away from the hug. 

 

“Sorry,” Jack said at the same time, brushing off his coat.

 

Rose shook her head, “See you later, Jack,” she told him, smiling kindly, “I promise, we’ll see you again, me and the Doctor.”

 

Jack grinned, “Can’t wait,” he replied, “Just… Don’t tell him about me, just yet. There’s apparently a specific way this is supposed to play out, and you’ve got enough on your plate for now.”

 

The blonde nodded, and pressed one last kiss to the captain’s cheek, “I won’t, but I won’t forget you,” she reminded him, then she looked at Mickey, “You ready?”

 

“As I’ll ever be,” Mickey replied, then he reached out a hand for hers, and once she took it, the two left Torchwood Three, and headed into what would later turn out to be the longest day of their lives. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wrote this at 2 am and I need sleep, leave my sleep deprived ass some comments. They make a writer's day. Trust.


	26. Army of Ghosts: The Beginning of the End

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here we have it folks, the true beginning of the end, this is one of two Army of Ghosts chapters, the next one I'm gonna start working on tonight so I can have it up as soon as possible, I've already got the end of it written (I got too excited and wrote ahead) so that should speed up the process, but who knows. Anyway, here's this one.

The ganger stepped out of the Tardis to feel a cool breeze brushing her hair off of her shoulders. Had it been longer, it would’ve been flowing gracefully in the wind, but with Rose’s haircut, that wasn’t so. She put her hands on her hips as she stared up at the cloudy sky above the true Rose’s home, and sighed, “Not the greatest weather today,” she told the man behind her as he too stepped out of the ship, closing the door behind him. 

 

The time lord stared up at the clouds above them, and shrugged, “Guess not,” he replied, holding his hand out for hers, “You ready?”

 

She gave him a nod, and Rose’s signature smile, then she took his hand, and the two began to walk toward the Powell Estate.

 

As they walked, Rose felt her heart rate increase rapidly the closer they got to her and Jackie’s flat. She’d been doing well at pretending to be Rose since she’d lost the connection to the real girl, and she could pretend all she wanted beforehand that she was going to be fine encountering Rose’s mother, but when it was a mere ten seconds away, she was much less certain how good her acting skills were. 

 

Sparing a glance at the Doctor, she noticed he appeared almost as nervous as she was. She couldn’t blame him, given what the two of them had done over the month they’d been together. Telling Jackie Tyler something like that was certainly intense. Whatever the consequence of telling Jackie was, at least he wouldn’t have to live with it for long. Now that the kill order had been given, Rose could kill him at any moment once they were alone.

 

The two finally reached the Tyler’s door, and Rose reached into her pocket, pulling out the flat key, and unlocking the door before she and the Doctor walked inside. “Mum, it’s us!” she called out, “We’re back!”

 

It wasn’t long after that when a relieved, though slightly scared Jackie Tyler appeared before them, “Oh, thank god,” she breathed, wrapping her arms around what the ganger thought she believed to be her daughter. The embrace was mercifully brief, spanning two seconds at most before Jackie moved on, and looked at the Doctor. 

 

The elder Tyler swallowed nervously, then she pulled him in for a hug, “Oh, you’re alive,” she said softly, then rather quickly she added, “You’re both alive.”

 

The Doctor looked confused as his hug with Jackie went on a little longer than any of them had anticipated, and he gently patted her back, “Yes, Jackie, we’re fine,” he told her, then he pulled away, “Why wouldn’t we be?”

 

Jackie shrugged, pulling him back in for another hug, but not saying anything. The ganger stared at her oddly. Since when did Jackie actually like the Doctor? From what she could recall, Rose’s mother had always had some sort of disapproval for the pair’s travels. She’d never been the biggest fan of the relationship they’d had. So why was she holding on so tightly to him now?

 

At last, she pulled away from the Doctor, and as the three of them walked further into the flat, Rose realized that she had to start her Rose act right then, or she’d be caught. She cleared her throat, and pulled the silver orb she’d bought on the asteroid minutes earlier out of her pocket, presenting it to the real Rose’s mother. “Bought this for you on an asteroid market,” she told her, “Figured I’d get you something to try and make up for being gone for so long.”

 

Jackie gave her a smile, then took it from the ganger’s hands, and set it on the kitchen counter, “I’ve got a surprise for you.”

 

Rose feigned a laugh, then turned to the Doctor, “I buy her a gift and she doesn’t even say thanks,” she muttered. 

 

The Doctor grinned smugly as Jackie continued talking, unfazed by Rose’s comment, “Guess who’s coming to visit?” she asked, “You’re just in time. He’ll be here at ten past. Who do you think it is?”

 

The ganger honestly had no idea. Without Rose’s memories, she had no clue who was important to the Tyler family. Who had an influence on their lives. She was completely, utterly lost. She shook her head, “I don’t know,” she replied honestly. 

 

“Oh, go on, guess.”

 

“I hate guessing, just tell me.”

 

“It’s your granddad, Granddad Prentice. He’s on his way, any minute now,” Jackie told her with an excited smile on her face, “Come on, I’m making tea while we wait,” she added, walking into the kitchen. 

 

Rose put on a smile, “Mum, that’s wonderful,” she replied, following Jackie into the kitchen, “I’m happy for you. It’s been a while since we’ve seen him, hasn’t it?”

 

Jackie nodded in a manner the ganger could almost read as being nervous, “Yeah, it has, it’s been ten years since he passed.”

 

The ganger’s eyebrows furrowed. How could someone be dead for ten years, but be in her flat in the next few minutes? She blinked a few times, opening her mouth to say something before the Doctor said exactly what she was thinking, “Didn’t you just say he was coming any minute now?” 

 

Another nod, “Yeah, he is.”

 

“How’s he doing that, then?” the time lord asked. 

 

Jackie practically beamed, “Ask him yourself,” she replied, looking at the watch on her wrist, “Ten past. Here he comes.”

 

In that moment, a silver looking ghostly figure appeared in the room, shocking the Doctor and the ganger, but not Jackie. The older woman looked completely at peace with the figure, even staring at it in awe and adoration. Rose and the Doctor stared at it in shock and upon glancing at the time lord’s face, the ganger observed horror in his expression. 

 

“What are you thinking?” she asked him, nudging his arm gently, finding she was genuinely curious what was going on in his head. 

 

“That’s not possible,” was his simple reply, then he stepped forward, and walked around the ghost, staring at it from all sides, “That’s… That’s not possible.”

 

Rose scoffed, “All the things we’ve seen, and  _ that’s  _ what you call impossible?”

 

The Doctor shook his head, then he turned to Jackie, “How many people know about this?” he asked, “Your ghost.”

 

Jackie laughed, “This isn’t the only ghost, they’re everywhere,” she replied, “All over the world.”

 

He didn’t hesitate to run over to the nearest window, and peer out of it. The ganger joined him, and gasped when she saw dozens of the ghosts roaming around outside the Powell Estate, mingling with the people, who paid them little attention as they walked past. “What the hell?” the ganger asked, staring down at the strange sight before her, then turning back to Jackie she added, “How long has this been going on?”

 

“Two months now,” Jackie told them, staring down at her watch again, “They haven’t got long. Midday shift only lasts a couple of minutes. They’re about to fade.”

 

“What do you mean, shift?” the Doctor asked, “Since when did ghosts have shifts? Since when did shifts have ghosts? What's going on?”

 

Jackie looked at him smugly, “Oh, he’s not happy when I know more than him, is he?”

 

The Doctor pointed to the window he and Rose had been staring out, “But no one’s running or screaming or freaking out?” he asked as the ghost in the Tyler’s flat continued to roam around.

 

“Why should we?” Jackie inquired, looking at her watch, “Here we go, twelve minutes past.”

 

With that, the ghost in the flat, and the ghosts outside faded away to nothing before their eyes. The Doctor and Rose stared in disbelief, both wondering what the hell they’d just witnessed. The ganger was also wondering what this meant in terms of the recently delivered kill order. How much longer would she have to wait now that they were about to get involved in another inevitably dangerous adventure?

 

The Doctor didn’t hesitate to bombard Jackie with more questions, “So, two months ago ghosts just show up on Earth, and no one’s worried?”

 

Jackie scoffed, “Of course we were!” she cried, “We all ran round screaming and that. Whole planet was panicking. No sign of you, thank you very much. Then it sort of sank in. It took us time to realise that we're lucky.”

 

Rose walked toward her mother, and put on the most concerned face she could muster, “But mum, what makes you think that ghost was granddad?”

 

“It just feels like him,” Jackie explained, “There’s that smell. Those old cigarettes. Can’t you smell it?”

 

The ganger couldn’t smell a damn thing. “I can’t.”

 

“You’ve got to make an effort. You’ve got to want it, sweetheart.”

 

“The more you want it, the stronger it gets,” the Doctor observed, walking up to Rose and her mother so he was side by side with his companion. 

 

“Sort of, yeah,” Jackie replied.

 

“Like a psychic link,” he continued, “Of course you want your old dad to be alive, but you're wishing him into existence. The ghosts are using that to pull themselves in.”

 

Jackie shook her head, “You’re spoiling it.”

 

The Doctor sighed, “I’m sorry, Jackie, but there’s no smell, no cigarettes. Just a memory.”

 

The ganger cleared her throat, pulling the time lord’s attention to her, “But if they’re not ghosts, what are they then?” she asked, “They look human. They were all… blurred, but that shape was definitely human.”

 

“Maybe not,” the Doctor replied, scratching his head, “They’re pressing themselves onto the surface of this world, but a footprint doesn’t look like a boot.”

 

Rose nodded slowly, “So it’s something else, then,” she said, crossing her arms and leaning back against the nearby counter. Not a moment later, the Doctor followed suit, moving his arm to wrap it around her shoulders, but stopping once his gaze landed on Jackie.

 

The ganger chuckled, and only laughed harder when Jackie’s eyes flicked between the two of them, and her eyebrows furrowed in confusion, “What was that?”

 

“What was what?” the Doctor asked innocently. 

 

“ _ That, _ ” Jackie replied, pointing to the Doctor’s arm, looking befuddled but not completely surprised, “I’ve seen you holding hands and stuff before, but that… That was something else.”

 

A groan left Rose’s lips, “Mum, there’s bloody ghosts roaming around the planet, and this is what you choose to focus on?”

 

Jackie cocked her head to the side, and frowned, “Well, I’ve had time to get used to the ghosts,” she retorted, “This is new.”

 

The Doctor turned and looked at Rose, “Do you want to tell her?” he whispered quietly enough that the sound didn’t reach Jackie’s ears.

 

A surprised look appeared on the ganger’s face. She hadn’t expected him to say that, to be so willing to just tell Jackie what had happened between the two of them. Just minutes before when they’d been in the Tardis he’d been pretty scared when it came to telling her mother about them. “Are you sure?” she inquired, uncrossing her arms, and taking his hand in hers, putting the most genuine look of trust and love she was capable of in her eyes. 

 

He gave her a nod, then he turned back to Jackie, “Well, I guess you could say there’s been… changes on our end of things, too,” he told her with a small smile, “Jackie-”

 

“We’re a couple,” the ganger interrupted, leaning into the Doctor for emphasis, ignoring the slightly sickened look on Jackie’s face, “We’ve been a couple for nearly a month.” Nearly as long as the ganger had been with the Doctor. 

 

Jackie swallowed, and stared between the two of them, “... How the hell did this start?”

 

“We went to this spaceship with Mickey,” Rose confessed, “And something happened that made him open up. He was honest with me, told me everything he felt, and it just… happened.”

 

“What just happened?”

 

“Stuff.”

 

“What sort of  _ stuff? _ ”

 

Rose laughed, “Not that sort of stuff, mum,” she told her. It wasn’t entirely a lie. They’d only ever gotten the majority of each other’s clothes off, but they’d never gone further than that. It was all snogging sessions that were reminiscent of teenaged love. For some reason he’d always stopped them before going further, and though the ganger found it odd, she didn’t dare question it. She didn’t want to drive him away. That wasn’t something Rose would do. 

 

The Doctor laughed, “Anyway, now that we’ve got everything out in the open, we’ve got a more pressing problem,” he interrupted, “Finding out where those ghosts came from, what they’re doing here, and what they really are.”

 

“In that order?” Jackie asked. 

 

“No, not necessarily,” the Doctor replied, then he let go of Rose’s hand, and headed toward the flat’s door, “Come on, we’ve got work to do, and we can only do it in the Tardis.”

 

Rose followed instantly, but Jackie wasn’t close behind, and the older Tyler tugged on Rose’s arm, preventing her from walking any closer to the flat door, “Rose, can I talk to you for a second?” she asked kindly.

 

The ganger spared the Doctor a glance, watching the time lord pause by the door as he waited for her to follow him. She gave him a smile, “Go ahead, we’ll only be a minute.”

 

With that, the Doctor nodded, and walked out of the flat, leaving only the ganger and Jackie in the family room, completely alone. A moment of silence passed between them until the door shut, and suddenly Jackie backed away until she was on the other side of the room, “I know who you are,” she said quietly, gulping nervously after she spoke. 

 

If the ganger’s heart weren’t already racing at its fastest pace, it certainly was then. She didn’t let the shock show on her face, however, knowing that she couldn’t just give away her act so easily. She still had to try, and as she did with Mickey, she at first put up one last facade, “What do you mean?”

 

Jackie walked into the kitchen, and Rose followed soon after to find that the true Rose’s mother was facing away from her, standing stiff as a board. “I know you’re not my daughter,” she said, “I know what you’re planning, and what you’re gonna do to that man. I’ve never been his biggest fan, but… He’s a wonderful man, so I’m asking you not to do it.”

 

“Not to do what? Mum, I don’t understand!”

 

“Stop it!” Jackie cried, turning around to face the ganger, “God, you look like her, you sound like her… You even do a half decent job of acting like her, but you are not my daughter.”

 

The ganger reached into her pocket, feeling for the knife she had in her pocket, the one she’d been carrying with her since the beginning, and she gripped the handle tightly. She was prepared to use it if this conversation went south, “I don’t know what you mean, mum,” she whimpered, feeling tears rise to her eyes, “It’s me. It’s me, I don’t know who you think I am, but I’m not going to hurt anyone!”

 

“Stop! Please, I’m begging you, be honest with me,” Jackie protested, walking toward the ganger, “Tell me the truth.”

 

Feeling the bloodlust rise within her, the ganger gripped the knife tightly in her pocket as her vision lined with red. “I don’t know what you mean,” she continued to say, “And we don’t have time for this. We’ve got ghosts to take care of,” she added, attempting to leave the conversation once again before Jackie grabbed her arm for the second time. 

 

“They told me who you are,” she hissed, “They told me everything. As convincing as you are, you won’t fool me.”

 

Rose scoffed, giving Jackie one last desperate look before that melted away, and she let the bloodlust rising within her bubble to the surface. She took the knife from her pocket, and with one arm she pushed Jackie against the wall, and the other placed the knife at Jackie’s throat, grinning wickedly as she did so, “It was always so much harder pretending to be that bitch when I didn’t have her memories,” she growled, “And I’ve got to pretend for just a little while longer, then I can end this, so I can’t have you going around and shouting all this to the Doctor, so here’s a little promise.”

 

Jackie gulped nervously, “What’s your promise?” she asked, voice trembling as she spoke. 

 

“Rose was supposed to be spared in all this,” the ganger hissed, “But not everything’s gone according to plan, she’s supposed to be on a fucking asteroid. So here’s my promise; as long as you don’t say anything to the Doctor until the moment his hearts stop beating, she’ll still get to live. If you tell him a word, if you try to warn him in any way, I’ll kill Rose.”

 

A choked gasp was the only noise that came from Jackie’s mouth, but she nodded, and the ganger laughed, “Oh, I knew you’d make the right decision,” she breathed, “But I was serious, we do have ghosts to take care of, so come with me, pretend I am your daughter, or Rose dies.”

 

The elder Tyler nodded, then Rose backed away, and put the knife in her pocket, grinning smugly at the real Rose’s mother before she turned around, and walked toward the Tardis. 

 

The two didn’t speak a word after that, their journey to the blue box was spent in complete silence, the only sound was the sound of their footsteps as they descended the staircase. The ganger’s bloodlust slowly faded away, and she felt the happiest she’d felt in a while. Despite all that had happened she was still able to carry out the plans Madame Kovarian had given her. The Doctor would still die, and the universe would be a better place for it.

 

Half an hour later, Rose was in the Tardis again with the Doctor, and Jackie was waiting outside for the two of them. The ganger was perfectly content with this setup, since it didn’t involve Jackie risking her daughter’s life again to try and stop her from killing the Doctor. The time lord remained oblivious to the fact that anything had happened as he emerged from beneath the Tardis grating with a backpack on his back, and an odd device in his hands, “Who you gonna call?” he sing-songed.

 

The ganger laughed, catching the reference to one of the many movies they’d watched in their short time together, “Ghostbusters!” she cried, stepping away from her position by the console as the Doctor ran out of the ship.

 

“I ain’t afraid of no ghosts,” he continued, then he walked outside, and placed the object in his hands near two others that looked just like it before looking at Jackie, “When’s the next shift?” 

 

“Quarter to,” she told him, “But don’t go causing trouble. What’s that lot do?”

 

“Triangulates their point of origin,” the Doctor replied.

 

The ganger looked at him curiously, “So what do you think they are?”

 

He shrugged, “I don’t know, can’t wait to find out, though.”

 

“You’re always doing this,” Jackie protested, “Reducing it to science. Why can't it be real? Just think of it, though. All the people we've lost. Our families coming back home. Don't you think it's beautiful?”

 

The Doctor looked Jackie in the eyes, “I think it’s horrific,” he told her, then he began to walk back into the Tardis, unwinding the cable on his backpack as he went, “Rose, give us a hand!”

 

The ganger spared a glare in Jackie’s direction, then she quickly followed him into the ship, and watched as he plugged the cable into the console. Jackie followed soon after, shutting the door behind her as the Doctor began his technobabble that the ganger was slowly learning to understand. Luckily, she wouldn’t have to learn for much longer. “As soon as the cones activate, if that line goes into the red, press that button there. If it doesn't stop…” he paused, taking his sonic screwdriver out of his pocket, and handing it to her, “Setting fifteen B. Hold it against the port, eight seconds and stop.”

 

Rose nodded, “Fifteen B, eight seconds, got it,” she replied, smiling kindly at him.

 

“If it goes into the blue, activate the deep scan on the left,” he told her, then seeing her confused look, he pointed to another button, and said, “This button. Now, what have we got, two minutes to go?”

 

Jackie checked her watch, “One, actually,” she told him, “Better get started.”

 

The Doctor beamed at Rose’s mother, then he ran outside with the backpack on his shoulders, and activated the cones as Rose looked at the ship’s monitor, “What’s the line doing?” he shouted at her from the outside.

 

“It’s all right. It’s holding!” she replied, pulling the monitor slightly so she could see it better. 

 

Jackie walked around to the other side of the ganger, “What are you gonna do to him?” she asked, leaning against the console, “He can’t hear us, you can tell me. I know I can’t stop you, but the least you could do is tell me.”

 

The ganger sighed, then she nodded, “Guess there’s no need to hide anything now,” she said, “I’m gonna kill him, Jackie. I’m gonna shoot him with my gun, or I’ll stab him with my knife, I sort of prefer the latter of the two. He’s a glorious enemy, and a man like that… You can’t just finish him off with a gun. I respect him too much for that.”

 

“ _ Respect? _ ”

 

“Oh, hush, of course I respect him, he’s the Doctor. He’s one of the universe’s most well known killers. Haven’t you heard? He killed his own species, and another. He committed genocide, and more than that, he’s intervened with time more times than anyone can count. He’s got to be stopped.”

 

Jackie shook her head, “No, he hasn’t, he’s saved more people than anyone can count, I’ve seen it. He’s saved this planet more times than anyone knows, and all those other things Rose told me about… The other worlds he’s saved…”

 

“They don’t make up for the other shit he’s done, didn’t you hear me tell you he killed two entire species?”

 

Before Jackie could reply, the Doctor shouted at them from the outside, “Here we go!”

 

Rose was instantly back looking at the monitor, “The scanner's working. It says delta one six,” she told the Doctor.

 

“Come on, then you beauty,” the Doctor said gleefully, no doubt doing some sort of happy dance Rose couldn’t see from there. She still rolled her eyes as the Doctor continued talking to whatever ghost inevitably had shown up in the triangle he’d created, “Don’t like that much, do you? Who are you? Where are you coming from?”

 

Rose spared a glance outside the doors to see a ghost struggling to get out of the barrier they’d created, and grimaced when she heard the Doctor’s laughter, “That's more like it! Not so friendly now, are you?” the time lord asked it as it continued to bang against the barrier.

 

Jackie and Rose watched on the monitor as the ghost faded away, then the Doctor picked up the little cones he’d used to triangulate their signal. The former of the two sighed, then walked up to another part of the ship, and sat down, dangling her legs off of the edge as she waited for the Doctor to return.

 

The time lord then burst into the Tardis with a wide grin on his face as he placed the equipment down on the floor near the console, and threw his trenchcoat over a piece of the Tardis coral, “I said so!” he cried gleefully, running toward Rose, “Those ghosts have been forced into existence from one specific point, and I can track down the source. Allonsy!” he added, pushing a lever into place, and sending them into the time vortex before giving Rose a brief kiss. 

 

She giggled softly, “Someone’s in a good mood,” she told him, ignoring the fact that Jackie was still on board the Tardis, and she was staring at them angrily. 

 

“I like that, allonsy, I should say allonsy more often,” he continued, ignoring the ganger, who quirked an eyebrow and stared at him as he continued his babble, “Allonsy. Watch out, Rose Tyler. Allonsy. And then, it would be really brilliant if I met someone called Alonso, because then I could say, allonsy, Alonso, every time. You're staring at me.”

 

The ganger grinned smugly, “My mum’s still on board.”

 

The Doctor frowned, then looked past her to see that Jackie Tyler was indeed still on board, and she was staring right at him, “If we end up on Mars, I’m gonna kill you,” she warned him as they materialized wherever the signal had led. 

 

Rose and the Doctor instantly stared at the monitor to find they were in some sort of loading bay, and they were surrounded by men with guns. Both of them frowned, worried as to what the hell that meant for them. “Oh, there goes the advantage of surprise,” the Doctor muttered, then he looked at Rose, “Still, cuts to the chase. Stay in here, look after Jackie.”

 

The ganger laughed, “I’m not looking after my mum,” she protested as he walked toward the ship’s doors.

 

“Well you brought her!”

 

“I was kidnapped!” Jackie cried, following the two of them to the doors.

 

“Doctor, they’ve got guns,” Rose warned him as he moved to open the doors. 

 

The time lord nodded, then he reached his hands up, and caressed her cheeks, “And I haven’t, which makes me the better person,” he assured her, gently pulling her toward him for one last kiss before he went out to face the gunmen, “They can shoot me dead, but the moral high ground is mine.”

 

With that, the Doctor stepped out and raised his arms, and the ganger and Rose’s mother walked up to the doors, listening intently to what was happening on the other side. The first voice Rose heard belonged to an enthusiastic woman, who applauded the Doctor, then showered him with compliments, “How marvelous,” she was telling him, “Superb, happy day!”

 

“Um, thanks, nice to meet you, I’m the Doctor,” the time lord replied, introducing himself. 

 

“Who are these people?” Jackie asked quietly, glancing up at the ganger, who suddenly felt her bloodlust rising. 

 

“I don’t know,” she asked, “Now would you shut up? I’m trying to listen.”

 

Unfortunately for both of them, Jackie Tyler wasn’t one to shut up. She was the one to prattle on until one’s ears bled, and in that particular moment, that did not bode well for her. The ganger’s hand reached into her pocket, and she rubbed the handle of the knife as her vision was lined with red for the second time that day. “But what are they gonna do to him?” Jackie asked, “Are they like you? Are they trying to kill him?”

 

“Jackie, I said  _ SHUT UP! _ ” Rose whisper shouted, then she took the knife out of her pocket, and hit the older woman on the head with the butt of it, causing her to collapse to the ground, unconscious. As soon as Jackie Tyler was down, Rose continued to listen to what was happening outside.

 

“And you are…?” the Doctor was asking the mysterious woman. 

 

“Oh, plenty of time for that,” she assured him, “But according to the records, you're not one for travelling alone. The Doctor and his companion. That's a pattern, isn't it, right? There's no point hiding anything. Not from us. So where is she?”

 

The Doctor laughed, then the Tardis door opened slightly, and he reached a hand back, “Right, sorry, she’s just a bit shy,” he told them, “That’s all.”

 

Rose put her hand in his, and let him slowly pull her out of the ship, putting a shy smile on her face for emphasis. “Hello,” she said calmly, trying to prevent her bloodlust from showing its face in front of all of those guns. Knocking out Jackie hadn’t been nearly enough to satisfy it, she could only hope that she would be able to keep it down long enough to get the Doctor alone, and kill him. 

 

“This is Rose Tyler,” the Doctor announced to the people before them, then he turned to her, and lowered his voice, “Where’s your mum?”

 

“She’s inside,” Rose whispered, “I told her to stay there until we got back.”

 

“Could be a while.”

 

“It’s a big ship, she can explore.”

 

The Doctor nodded in agreement as they were led out of the loading bay by the woman and the men with guns, “It was only a matter of time before you found us, and at last you’ve made it,” she told them, the smile on her face only growing wider as they walked on, “I’d like to welcome you, Doctor, welcome to Torchwood.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I should warn y'all that it's gonna get a tad violent in the next chapter, but I'm so fucking psyched for it. Later, folks.


	27. Army of Ghosts: Kill of the Night

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was a lot longer than I anticipated, and it isn't actually the last chapter of Army of Ghosts, but these things don't always work out the way you plan them. It was a hell of a lot of fun to write, and it does borrow a lot from the script at first, but there are some severe deviations... Especially toward the end. I've got part of the next chapter written as well, then there's just two more chapters before I'm caught up with what I wrote way back in February/March (I was way too pumped for the end of this story) and that's honestly my favorite thing that I've ever written. Anyway, here we go.

_ “It was only a matter of time before you found us, and at last you’ve made it,” she told them, the smile on her face only growing wider as they walked on, “I’d like to welcome you, Doctor, welcome to Torchwood.” _

 

Rose paused for a moment, not recognizing the name. She looked to the Doctor for answers, but he seemed almost as clueless as she was. “I’m sorry, who?” she asked, but her question was ignored as they walked into a warehouse full of crates and various alien junk. Several vehicles passed them by as well as armed soldiers, but neither the ganger nor the Doctor paid them any mind as they stared at what was directly above them, something that appeared to be a sort of flying saucer.

 

“That’s a Jathar Sunglider,” he observed, putting a name to the mysterious spaceship above their heads.

 

“Came down to Earth off the Shetland Islands ten years ago,” the woman explained as they continued walking.

 

“So it crashed, then?” the ganger asked.

 

“No, we shot it down, it violated our airspace. Then we stripped it bare. The weapon that destroyed the Sycorax on Christmas Day? That was us,” she explained, “Now, if you'd like to come with me. The Torchwood Institute has a motto. If it's alien, it's ours. Anything that comes from the sky, we strip it down and we use it for the good of the British Empire.”

 

Another pause occurred as the ganger processed the words she’d just been told. As far as she knew, there was no British empire in that year… “There isn’t a British Empire, don’t be ridiculous.”

 

“Not yet. Ah, excuse me. Now, if you wouldn't mind,” the woman replied as a soldier approached her carrying an alarmingly large gun, and handing it to her once he was within reach, “Do you recognize this, Doctor?”

 

Going by the look on his face, he most certainly did, “That’s a particle gun.”

 

“The hell’s a particle gun?” the ganger asked, quirking an eyebrow in its direction. 

 

“Took us eight years to get it to work,” the woman told them. 

 

“It’s the twenty first century, you can’t have particle guns,” the Doctor protested. 

 

The woman looked offended, “We must defend our border against the alien,” she told him, then she turned and handed the gun back to the soldier who had given it to her, “Thank you, Sebastian, isn’t it?”

 

“Yes ma’am,” the soldier replied, taking the gun.

 

With the hint of a smile on her face, she turned back to the Doctor and the ganger, “I think it’s very important to know everyone by name. Torchwood is a very modern organisation. People skills. That's what it's all about these days. I'm a people person.”

 

“Have you got anyone called Allonso?” the Doctor asked, earning him a smack in the gut from the ganger, “Ow!”

 

“Seriously, you’ve got to do that now?” she hissed, though she stared at him teasingly. 

 

“Yes I have,” the time lord whispered, then he looked back at the woman, “Have you?”

 

“No, I don’t think so,” she told them, “Why, is that important?”

 

“No, it’s not,” the ganger assured her, “What was your name, though? We never caught that.”

 

“Yvonne, Yvonne Hartman,” the woman told them as the Doctor was distracted by something in a box. 

 

The object of his distraction was large and black, and had a handle by which he lifted it out of the box, and stared at it curiously. Rose followed him, and stared over his shoulder at the mysterious new find. A smile grew on the woman’s face as she approached him, “Ah, yes, we’re rather fond of these, the magnaclamp. Found in a spaceship buried at the base of Mount Snowdon. Attach this to an object and it cancels the mass. I could use it to lift two tons of weight with a single hand. That's an imperial ton, by the way. Torchwood refuses to go metric.”

 

The ganger scoffed, “I’ll admit that’s impressive,” she muttered under her breath, wondering just how in the hell these people had gotten their hands on all of this technology. It shouldn’t have been possible. They didn’t even have this on Demon’s Run as far as she knew, so what the hell was it doing in twenty first century Britain?

 

Beside her, the Doctor casually let the magnaclamp drop to the ground, the dark object making contact with it with minimal sound as he walked away, “So, what about these ghosts?”

 

“Yeah, we’d like to know about that,” the ganger added, “We’ve got some business to attend to, very pressing stuff.”

 

“Have we really?” the Doctor inquired.

 

Rose gave him a soft smile and a nod, not letting him know that the business they had to attend to was his death, something which certainly wouldn’t happen if they didn’t have a god damned moment alone. 

 

“Ah, yes, the ghosts,” Yvonne replied, “They’re what you might call a side effect.”

 

“What the hell are they a side effect of?” the ganger asked. 

 

Unfortunately, it didn’t seem like she’d be getting her answers just then, for Yvonne simply brushed off her question with, “All in good time, Rose, there’s an itinerary, trust me.”

 

The ganger rolled her eyes, and turned around to see the Tardis being driven past them on the back of a truck, “Shit!” she cried, alerting the Doctor to the problem. 

 

The time lord turned around to see the same thing, and he looked back at Yvonne, “Where are you taking it?”

 

“If it’s alien, it’s ours,” she replied. 

 

“You’ll never get inside it,” the Doctor warned her. 

 

Again Yvonne shrugged off their comments like they were nothing, “Hmm, etcetera,” she mumbled, leading them out of the warehouse and into a corridor.

 

The Doctor put his hands in his pockets, “All these times I’ve been on Earth, I’ve never heard of you.”

 

“But of course not, you’re the enemy,” she explained as they walked, “You're actually named in the Torchwood Foundation Charter of 1879 as an enemy of the Crown.”

 

“1879…” the Doctor muttered, “That was called Torchwood, that house in Scotland.”

 

Yvonne nodded, “That’s right, where you encountered Queen Victoria and the werewolf.”

 

“You encountered the what?” Rose asked incredulously. Werewolves were another thing that weren’t supposed to exist, though she supposed the man walking beside her would find a way to make anything real. 

 

His reaction to that statement was anything other than what she expected it to be. She thought he’d laugh, then burst into the tale of what happened with the werewolf. Maybe he’d brush it off as nothing. Anything other than stopping in his tracks, nearly causing the soldiers behind him to walk straight into him as he stared at her with his eyebrows raised, “Don’t tell me you’ve already forgotten Queen Victoria!”

 

She froze for a second, then she laughed, and patted his arm, “I was just joking,” she replied, giving him Rose’s signature grin, “Just having you on.”

 

The Doctor nodded a bit too quickly for her liking, as if he didn’t really believe her, but he didn’t want to press the issue, then kept walking behind Yvonne as she led them throughout the Torchwood institute. The ganger breathed a sigh of relief at her narrow escape. It was a mercy that she was good at thinking on her feet, but that slip up meant that she really needed to kill him soon or the plan would fail. Madame Kovarian was a genius, but even she would admit that whatever backup plan she had would take a long time to complete. 

 

“There is so much you can teach us,” Yvonne said as they approached a door, “Starting with this,” she added, taking a card of sorts out of her pocket, and tapping it against a scanner before the door opened to reveal a large laboratory complete with white coated scientists with clipboards walking about. Various machinery was positioned throughout the room, but the most striking part of it was the large, unsettling golden sphere resting in mid air at the far end of the room. 

 

“Now what do you make of that?” Yvonne asked as the Doctor and the ganger entered the room. 

 

Rose and the Doctor simply stared up at it, not even noticing when one of the scientists approached the time lord, and offered his hand, “You must be the Doctor,” he told him, “Rajesh Singh. It’s an honor, sir.”

 

The Doctor barely even gave him a response, the only word elicited from his lips in that moment was, “Yeah,” before he continued to stare in a manner that Rose would almost call concerned at the mysterious sphere above them. 

 

“What is that thing?” Rose asked, pointing up at it, finding that she was unable to take her eyes off of it now that she was really staring at it. 

 

Rajesh turned to face her, opening his mouth to speak before he suddenly got a strange look in his eyes, and he stared at the ganger curiously, “Sarah what the hell are you doing there?” he asked her.

 

Rose blinked a few times, “Who’s Sarah?” she asked, glancing at the Doctor.

 

“Yvonne, you know everyone here, doesn’t she look just like Sarah?” 

 

The woman who had led them there stepped forward, and gave Rose a once over, “Yes, I guess she does,” she said, “But I don’t see how it’s important.”

 

Rajesh certainly seemed to think it was, “Either she’s got a twin or that’s Sarah. The resemblance is uncanny,” he continued. 

 

The ganger laughed, “I promise you, I’m not Sarah, and I don’t have a twin,” she told him, suddenly feeling as if she knew precisely why Rajesh thought she was this, “Sarah.” The real Rose must’ve been there. She was in Torchwood, possibly at that very moment. A rush of fear flushed through her, and she felt her face blanch as the revelation hit her. She had to get out of that room, and she had to get out of there soon. 

 

“What’s wrong with the sphere, then?” the ganger asked, trying to get them back on the subject. 

 

There was a brief pause before the scientist answered her question with another, “What makes you think there’s something wrong with it?”

 

She stared up at the sphere again, an unsettling feeling sinking in the longer she looked at it. Something about the sphere was indeed wrong, but she couldn’t quite place it. “Just feels weird, I guess.”

 

“The sphere has that effect on everyone,” Yvonne explained, “Makes you want to run and hide, like it’s forbidden.”

 

The Doctor seemed to ignore their words, reaching into his pocket, and pulling out a pair of 3D glasses as he walked up the stairs toward the sphere, staring up at it curiously. The ganger walked up beside him as Rajesh continued explaining the sphere, and she too looked up at the mysterious object. 

 

“We tried analyzing it using every device imaginable,” Rajesh explained, “But according to our instruments, the sphere doesn't exist. It weighs nothing, it doesn't age. No heat, no radiation, and has no atomic mass.”

 

Rose spared the scientist a glance, “But I can see it,” she protested, “It’s right there!”

 

“Fascinating isn’t it? It upsets people because it gives off nothing. It’s absent.”

 

The ganger turned back to the Doctor, who was still staring up at it through his 3D glasses, “Well, Doctor? Any thoughts?”

 

“This is a void ship,” he said simply, not taking his eyes off of the ship. 

 

“The hell’s a void ship?” the ganger inquired.

 

“Well, it’s impossible, for starters,” the time lord replied, finally ripping his gaze from the sphere, and removing his glasses as he looked at the people in the room, “I always thought it was just a theory, but it's a vessel designed to exist outside time and space, travelling through the Void.”

 

“And what’s the void?” Rajesh asked.

 

“The space between dimensions,” the Doctor explained, sitting down on the steps leading up to the sphere, “There's all sorts of realities around us, different dimensions, billions of parallel universes all stacked up against each other. The Void is the space in between, containing absolutely nothing. Imagine that. Nothing. No light, no dark, no up, no down, no life, no time. Without end. My people called it the Void. The Eternals call it the Howling. But some people call it Hell.”

 

The ganger crossed her arms, finding that despite the desperation to fulfill her mission she was genuinely curious, “But why would anyone build that?”

 

He stared back up at the sphere, “To explore, to escape? You could sit inside that thing and eternity would pass you by. The Big Bang, end of the Universe, start of the next, wouldn't even touch the sides. You'd exist outside the whole of creation.”

 

“So there’s something inside,” the ganger observed, glancing back at the sphere as well as she sat down beside him, growing more and more nervous as the minutes ticked by that they were about to be swept up in something incredibly dangerous and she wouldn’t be able to kill him before the crisis occurred. 

 

In that moment, one thing was certain. She needed to kill him soon, or she wouldn’t be able to kill him at all. It was bad enough that they were getting involved with another dangerous situation. It was worse that Jackie Tyler knew who she was, and was currently resting on the floor of the Tardis unconscious. It was astronomically worse that the real Rose was actually inside the Torchwood institute. She had to do it as soon as she could, as soon as a window opened up. 

 

But how long could she keep waiting for windows to open? She was beginning to think she’d have to open one herself to get the Doctor alone, kill him, and get out before she was found. She’d successfully been able to get him alone on Krop Tor when they’d requested a room for the night. The only reason she hadn’t killed him then was because the kill order hadn’t been given… But now… Now it most certainly had. All she had to do was open that window…

 

“So how do we get in there?” Rajesh asked, interrupting her thoughts. She snapped her head angrily in his direction, suddenly feeling her bloodlust rising again, and she reached into her pocket to rub the handle of the knife in order to calm herself. Now was not the moment. It was so close, the right time was within her grasp, but it wasn’t there yet. 

 

“We don’t!” the Doctor cried, suddenly jumping off of the stairs, and standing straight up as he pointed angrily at the sphere, “We send that thing back into hell. How did it get here in the first place?” 

 

At the same time, Rose stood up and brushed herself off, taking his hand in hers, but not lacing their fingers as she stood by his side. The time lord spared her a brief glance, but kept his eyes sternly on Yvonne and Rajesh as he waited for their response.

 

“Well, that’s how it all started,” Yvonne told him, “The sphere came through onto this world, and the ghosts came in its wake.”

 

“Show me,” the Doctor commanded her, then he took his hand away from Rose’s, and walked out of the room. Confused, the ganger followed behind as the time lord walked out, and took a left.

 

“No, Doctor,” Yvonne called out from behind them, and the two quickly corrected themselves and turned right, walking until they reached a lift.

 

The time lord pressed the up button, but didn’t look at Rose as he stared at the little screen above the lift that displayed which floor it was on. He simply watched as the number went lower and lower until it arrived on their floor with a ding. By the time it arrived, Yvonne and a couple members of her guard had caught up to them, and were waiting with them. 

 

Rose ignored them as they got on the lift, and Yvonne pressed a button for the top floor, “Doctor, what’s wrong?” she asked, hoping he’d tell her why he was ignoring her, and pushing down her worst fear that he’d figured it out, that he knew she wasn’t really Rose.

 

More silence as the lift began to climb, and the Doctor said nothing, staring blankly ahead as though he were so deep in thought the world around him didn’t exist. 

 

“Doctor, tell me,” she demanded, putting as much kindness as she could into the way she rested her hand on his arm, “What’s going on?”

 

At that, the Doctor turned his head to look at her, and he smiled, though she could tell it wasn’t genuine, “Well, we’ve got a ship that’s not supposed to exists and ghosts,” he told her, “Just got a lot on my mind, is all.”

 

The ganger quirked an eyebrow, sensing the evident lie in his voice. She’d lied to him enough times to recognize the lie in the way he spoke. She knew that tone well, she’d used it only hundreds of times on him. There was no way his lies would work on her, but she didn’t want to press the issue. She didn’t care. If she had her way, he’d be dead or dying within the hour.

 

The lift dinged again, signaling to the five people in it that it had arrived at the top floor. When the doors opened, the Doctor was the first one out, but Yvonne was quick to move ahead of him, leading him to where she wanted him to go. This happened to be a long, white room. At the near end of the room there were office spaces and people behind desks, toward the middle on either side were two levers in the off position, and the rest of the room was blank, white space. 

 

That far end of the room was exactly where Yvonne led them, “The sphere came through here, a hole in the world,” she explained, gesturing to it with her hands, “Not active at the moment, but when we fire particle engines at that exact spot, the breech opens up.”

 

The Doctor rested his hand on the wall, “How did you even find it?” he asked before slowly backing away from it. 

 

“We were getting warning signs for years. A radar black spot. So we built this place, Torchwood Tower. The breech was six hundred feet above sea level. It was on the only way to reach it.”

 

Rose’s eyes widened, “You built a bloody skyscraper just to reach it?” she asked, “How rich are you?”

 

“Enough,” Yvonne replied cavalierly as she walked toward the office spaces at the back of the floor.

 

The Doctor and the ganger followed suit, “So you find the breach, probe it, the sphere comes through six hundred feet above London, bam. It leaves a hole in the fabric of reality,” the Doctor began, “And that hole, you think, oh, shall we leave it alone? Shall we back off? Shall we play it safe? Nah, you think let's make it bigger!”

 

Unable to help herself, the ganger giggled involuntarily, then stopped as soon as his eyes wandered in her direction, “You’ve got a point.”

 

“It’s a massive source of energy,” Yvonne said, “If we can harness that power, we need never depend on the Middle East again. Britain will become truly independent. Look, you can see for yourself. Next Ghost Shift's in two minutes,” she added, walking out of the office as she looked at her watch. 

 

“Cancel it,” the Doctor commanded her, following the woman out of her office. 

 

“I don’t think so,” Yvonne replied, looking annoyed. 

 

“I’m warning you, cancel it,” the time lord repeated. 

 

“Oh, exactly as the legends would have it.The Doctor, lording it over us. Assuming alien authority over the Rights of Man.”

 

The Doctor all but laughed as he walked around to the other side of the glass separating the office space from the white room, and took his sonic screwdriver out of his pocket, “Let me show you,” he said.

 

“Here we go,” the ganger muttered, rolling her eyes. 

 

The time lord didn’t hear the comment, and pressed his sonic screwdriver against the glass, pressing a button that illuminated the blue tip, causing the glass directly in front of him to crack, “Sphere comes through,” he began, the crack splintering in all directions on the plane of glass as he spoke, “But when it made the hole, it cracked the world around it. The entire surface of this dimension splintered. And that's how the ghosts get through. That's how they get everywhere. They're bleeding through the fault lines. Walking from their world, across the Void, and into yours, with the human race hoping and wishing and helping them along. But too many ghosts, and…” he tapped the glass with his finger, and the entire window pane shattered to the ground in front of him, causing the people nearest to it to jump back. 

 

Yvonne looked slightly stunned for a moment, but in the rather visible internal struggle between pride and rationality, pride won. “We’ll just have to be more careful, then,” she replied, walking away, “Positions! Ghost shift in one minute!”

 

“Yvonne, don’t do it,” Rose begged the woman, not wanting to jumpstart the danger anytime soon, she had a time lord to kill, “Listen to him. He’s never been wrong about this sort of stuff.”

 

“And I should take the word of someone who isn’t even human over a thousand shift’s worth of experience?”

 

“Stop at a thousand and think,” Rose urged her, mentally applauding what she hoped would be one of her last great Rose performances, “Think about what you’re doing. Think about who knows the most, who’s seen the most out of this whole universe, out of all reality.”

 

“We’re in control of the ghosts!” Yvonne insisted, “The levers can open the breach, but equally they can lose it.”

 

“Okay,” the Doctor replied, reaching back for a swivel chair, and sitting in it casually as if this were a regular conversation between friends. 

 

The ganger turned around and stared at him, “Are you just gonna let her?” she protested, gesturing to the still prideful looking Yvonne, “Are you kidding me?”

 

“Yeah, I said my bit,” the Doctor told her, crossing his arms as he leaned back slightly in the chair, “Don’t mind me. Any chance of a cup of tea?”

 

“Ghost shift in twenty seconds,” one of the desk workers announced. 

 

“Can’t wait to see it,” the Doctor commented.

 

“You can’t stop us, Doctor.”

 

“No, absolutely not,” the time lord replied, shaking his head, then he glanced at Rose, “Pull up a chair, Rose. Come and watch the fireworks.”

 

The desk worker continued counting down, and Yvonne stood firmly staring at the Doctor and the ganger. The three stared each other down until the worker reached two seconds before Yvonne finally cracked, “Stop the shift,” she ordered the workers, who continued working on the shift very briefly before she added, “I said stop!”

 

The Doctor and the ganger breathed sighs of relief, “Thank you,” the time lord said. 

 

“I suppose it makes sense to get as much intelligence as possible, but the programme will recommence, as soon as you've explained everything.”

 

“I’m glad to be of help.”

 

“And someone clear up this glass. They did warn me, Doctor. They said you like to make a mess,” Yvonne added, stepping over the glass to get into her office. 

 

The Doctor followed her inside, and the ganger started to when she was hit with a sudden revelation. She’d just been given a window. They’d successfully stalled the danger for the moment, but it wouldn’t stay that way for long. She had as little as five minutes before everything fell apart again, and no time to waste.

 

A smile grew on her face as she followed the Doctor into the office, and tugged lightly on his hand, “Doctor, can we talk for a minute before you get all… techno-babble and explain what’s going on?” she asked, giving off another well-mastered Rose Tyler grin.

 

The time lord raised his eyebrows, and turned to face Yvonne, “Mind if I speak with my companion for a moment?” he asked.

 

A ringing interrupted her answer, and the woman walked over to the monitor resting atop her desk, and sighed, “Sure, I’ve got to take this call anyway,” she told them, “Rajesh might’ve found something on the sphere.”

 

The ganger beamed at her, “Perfect,” she replied, leading the Doctor out of the office, and back down the corridor that had led them to the large, white room. She led him past the elevators, past more office spaces, all the way to the end by the emergency exit staircase before she finally stopped, and shoved her hands in her pockets, fingers latching around the handle of the knife. 

 

The Doctor stared at her apprehensively, “Why so far away?” he asked, running a hand through his hair nervously.

 

She shrugged, “I don’t know, just felt like we needed one last moment alone together,” she told him, “I know where this is going, Doctor. It’s about to get dangerous. We’ve stalled the danger for now, but… I don’t want to have another close call like we had on Krop Tor.”

 

Slowly, and almost hesitantly, he reached out and caressed her cheek, “We won’t, I promise. That won’t happen again.”

 

The ganger smiled, “I was hoping you’d say that,” she replied, then she took his tie and pulled his lips to hers in what would turn out to be their last kiss, then she almost lazily backed him into the wall, keeping her fingers wrapped around the knife the entire time. 

 

There was a definite pause between when their lips touched, and when the Doctor responded to the kiss, and when he finally did, it was different than any of the other times they’d kissed. It was uncertain, and almost as if he was forcing it. 

 

That was when Rose realized he knew something was up. Whether or not he knew who she was-what she was- was another story, but he certainly knew that something was wrong with Rose. She had to act quickly while she still had him in her grasp, the window of time she had was starting to close. It was now or never. 

 

She took the knife out of her pocket as they kissed, the time lord’s hands falling to his side as she continued to take control of the kiss, and she pressed the sharp end of it against his suit. It wasn’t enough to stab him just yet, but it was enough to alert him to the fact that he was now being threatened, and the time lord froze. 

 

The ganger broke the kiss, and the two stood stiff as boards aside from their breathing, which was heavier than she thought could possibly be healthy for either of their species. The Doctor’s breath was even shaky, but the rest of him stayed completely still as the two glanced down at the space that had been closed between them by the knife. 

 

Neither of them said anything as they stood frozen like that for what felt like hours, until eventually the ganger applied a small amount of pressure to the blade, pressing it into the Doctor’s clothing. There was the faintest tearing sound as it slowly took apart the threads holding the time lord’s pinstriped suit jacket together, but still neither of them spoke a word.

 

The Doctor was the first one to break the silence, “I really wanted to be wrong,” he breathed, his voice steady, though the sound of his breathing betrayed his fear, “More than anything I wanted to be wrong.”

 

She said nothing either, she simply met his eyes with hers, and finally let the murderous soul behind them shine through as another silence passed, “What do you know?”

 

“You’re not Rose,” he stated, glancing between her eyes for confirmation, then when he found it he scoffed, “You haven’t been Rose for a while, have you?”

 

She shook her head, “I haven’t been Rose since the night before we went to see Sarah Jane,” she confessed, “We took Rose when she went to retrieve your tool kit, Earth edition from the Tardis. She’s been tucked away ever since, but she escaped, now we’re here…”

 

“Who are you? Where’s Rose?” the Doctor asked in response, suddenly looking off down the corridor, and tensing his body as if to run, when the ganger pressed the knife further against him, cutting through the final fibers of the jacket. 

 

“Don’t move, or I’ll tell them to kill her,” she warned him, “And we will, kill her, so stay still, and listen, because I’ve waited for this moment for a month, and now… Now it’s here,” she added with a delighted laugh, “And I want to savor this, I want to savor the look on your stupid, bloody face because it’s just better than I could’ve ever dreamed,” she paused again, taking a deep breath as she closed her eyes, imagining the Doctor mere seconds from this moment, on the ground before her in a pool of his own blood as he was finally killed, and the mission was finally over, “Do you know what the best part is? You never figured it out.”

 

“Stop.”

 

“How could you not figure it out?”

 

The Doctor swallowed, his Adam’s apple bobbing visibly as he watched her taunt him, “Who are you?” he asked. 

 

“Have you ever heard of flesh gangers, Doctor?” she asked, letting go of the hand she had on his tie to reach up and stroke his hair, stopping when he flinched away from her touch, but he nodded slowly, “You know, flesh people created from the DNA of others… Identical to the source material… Have access to the real person’s memories… Until that person decides to escape their prison and rescue her beloved Doctor that is? Cause that’s what I am, but I’m not just… Any old ganger… No, no, I’m specifically engineered to kill you, or… I was, but they messed up, and I started getting the urge to kill randomly. Thanks to you, there are dozens of people dead across time and space that shouldn’t be.”

 

“Why?”

 

“Kovarian’s orders. The universe is fed up with you muddling with time and space, and everyone’s lives. There are so many dead because of you, because you couldn’t leave the universe bloody  _ alone.  _ History has a track to follow, time lord, and you’ve been messing with it for too long. You’ve left two entire species dead at your hands with your meddling, and you’ve got to be stopped before you can do anymore.  _ I’ve _ got to stop you.”

 

The Doctor sighed, his eyes growing misty as she watched, “And you think I don’t know that?” he asked, “I think about all the people that are dead because of me every night, all of them, all of those faces. I can remember them. That’s why I travel, to try and save people.”

 

“But you’re not, are you?” the ganger taunted, her voice momentarily taking on a childish tone, “You’re still causing innocent lives to be lost, blood to be spilt, and that’s why you’ve got to be put down.”

 

“You can’t kill me, I’ll just regenerate,” the Doctor protested, almost looking sympathetic toward her. 

 

She laughed again, “Oh, silly Doctor,” she breathed, “You can kill a time lord if you do it while he’s regenerating, I’ve just got to get you to regenerate first,” she added, then she tightened her grip on the knife, and stabbed the Doctor.

 

And for a moment it felt orgasmic as she thrusted the knife into the time lord’s gut. A rush of adrenaline coursed through her veins, and she threw her head back in ecstasy as the Doctor screamed. It felt better than all of her previous kills combined. It was raw, unadulterated power. It was a rush unlike any other she or the other Rose had experienced. It was a feeling that made every second of being with him worth it, and she instantly yearned to feel it again. 

 

She ignored the Doctor’s moans of “stop,” as she tore the knife away from him again, and brought it back down near his shoulder, narrowly missing one of his lungs as she did so, which was a blessing for him, considering she’d already punctured one with her first go with the knife. The time lord cried out again, clutching his first wound with one hand, and reaching for the second with the other, crossing his arms over his body to protect himself.

 

Despite that, she could tell that the second wound didn’t have quite the same impact as the first, and the ganger glared up at him with disappointed eyes as she used the knife to trace the features of his chest through his clothing. “So many ways I’ve thought of doing this,” she confessed, “So many nights I spent by your side dreaming of it, and now it’s here, I’m at a loss. Where do I go from here?”

 

“Please,” the Doctor begged, the look of utter betrayal and loss in his eyes growing stronger since he’d discovered who she truly was, “Don’t… Please stop.” 

 

Oh, how she was enjoying the pure expression of pain in his eyes. She could only imagine what was going on inside the time lord’s head in that moment as she continued to trace him with the knife, “Now stay still, you,” she told him, “I told you, I’d kill Rose Tyler if you moved, so don’t try anything stupid. Letting you scream is as far as I’m willing to go.”

 

The Doctor groaned in pain, “But… But… They’ll catch you,” he warned her, “They’ll figure out what’s going on… They’ve likely already heard the noise…”

 

The ganger scoffed, “I’d say they’re too busy figuring out how the hell there are two Roses by now,” she replied, taking the knife, and dragging it along the contours of his cheek bones, but not quite deep enough to leave a scratch, “They’ve probably made contact with the people in the basement, with ‘Sarah’. But they’re too late, by the time they come here, your fate will be sealed, Doctor.”

 

A look of utter disgust appeared on his face, “Who are you?” he asked, grunting as he shifted to make himself more comfortable, “You mentioned someone… someone called Kovarian… But what does that mean?”

 

This time she laughed at him, a sound that almost resembled a wicked cackle, “Oh, dear Doctor,” she muttered, “I couldn’t tell you. I can’t tell you anything. If this plan for some reason doesn’t work, we’ve got to keep some secrets in case we’ve got to try and kill you again.”

 

The Doctor grimaced openly, and with one of his hands, he weakly pointed up at her, “You won’t be able to,” he growled, visibly struggling to breathe before he spoke again, “I won’t be fooled twice, you can’t succeed.”

 

She must’ve gotten him good. Maybe she’d even puncture a lung, but it was no good, she didn’t feel the relief of her bloodlust she always got when she successfully killed. She felt the usual energy rush, but no relief. Why wasn’t it happening? She must not have delivered the final death blow… That could be the only thing keeping him from actually dying.

 

She laughed, and reached out one of her pointer fingers to boop him on the nose, “Ah, silly, but the job’s not done yet,” she reminded him, “You could still regenerate. Or even survive this without regenerating. No, it’s gotta be final, and I know just the spot.”

 

With that, the false Rose raised the knife one last time, and plunged it down to another spot on the time lord’s abdomen, causing him to cry out in agony as the knife cut through his flesh, then whichever internal organ was just beneath it. She didn’t know what had happened as she stepped back, gasping in shock as she let go of the knife handle, leaving the weapon still inside of him. 

 

The ganger cried out as she grasped at her head, and the Doctor stared at her curiously, blinking back tears as the woman who had pretended to love him collapsed against the opposite wall. He too found himself collapsing as the pain from the three stab wounds she’d inflicted overwhelmed him, and he stared down at the knife that was still plunged into his gut. He continued to stare at her as his legs gave out, and he slumped to the ground. 

 

Once he was on the ground, he leaned himself back against the wall with a groan, then he didn’t move, but only watched as the ganger cried out in pain in front of him. He looked on with sympathy as she struggled, knowing full well why she was suffering, but not being able to do anything about it. 

 

“What’s happening to me?” the ganger choked out, tears bursting from her eyes in her first true display of emotion, one more real than any she’d faked during their time together, “What have you done?”

 

“I’m sorry, I’m so sorry,” the Doctor said softly, continuing to stare at her as she collapsed to the floor in front of him. 

 

The ganger stared at him in anger and disbelief, “What have you done?” she cried, tears spilling onto her cheeks as she clutched at her head. It felt as though someone had lit a fire inside of her, and she was burning. She had no idea what the sensation meant, and it frightened her, she was well and truly scared. Nothing she’d faced in her time with the Doctor had gotten her more terrified than this, not even the devil himself. 

 

“You said you’re a flesh ganger,” he grunted, leaning his head back against the wall, “They programmed you to kill me, but they messed up, and you wanted to kill everyone, right?”

 

The ganger nodded, and the pain began to subside, but it was still ever-present, and she continued to hold on tightly to her head as she endured the mother of all headaches, “Yeah,” she replied weakly, nodding her head as gingerly as she could, “They messed up… and I… I’m so sorry… I didn’t mean to kill all those people,” she choked out as she suddenly felt an overwhelming sense of remorse flood through her. What the hell was happening? She’d never cared about her victims and what happened to them. Why was this happening now?

 

The Doctor swallowed, sweat beginning to bead on his forehead as he spoke, “Y-you were still programmed to kill m-me,” he strained to get the words out, “Y-you did it. Or, you’ll have d-done it soon enough, I’m-I’m dying.”

 

“I’m sorry,” the false Rose sobbed suddenly, “Oh, my god, I’m sorry… What have I done?”

 

“What you were programmed to do,” the Doctor explained, “B-but… your basic programming… The one you would’ve always reverted to once the t-task was finished… was… Rose… That’s how… That’s how a ganger works.”

 

The ganger gasped, and slowly let go of her head as she stared at him, “I’m sorry,” she whispered, “I’m sorry…”

 

Before she could say anything more, there was a loud commotion from down the corridor they’d walked down a few moments earlier, and Yvonne and her guards came running down full speed toward the Doctor and the ganger, “Doctor! They started the ghost shift! We can’t stop them! We-” Yvonne shouted, then she stopped dead in her tracks when she took in the sight before her, the sight of the bloodied Doctor dying on the floor, and the crying ganger huddled in the corner. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry to leave y'all there, but I've got some serious plans for these upcoming chapters, and I've already planned out the first sequel to this chapter by chapter. It's gonna be a little bit longer, but a lot of fun. Till next time.


	28. Army of Ghosts: Revelations

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I should stop apologizing for how agonizingly late things are considering I don't really have an update schedule. Anyway, it's here. I meant to post this yesterday, but my hour long nap turned into a seven hour nap when my alarm failed to work. But this is here, I'll start working on the next one later today to make up for my absence, but I also gotta work on the final chapter of Who Side Story, so that'll probably take precedence. Anyway, I initially planned for Army of Ghosts to only be two chapters, but there was more left of it than I realized, so it's getting a third. Doomsday is coming up right after this, though, so stay tuned.

Twenty Minutes earlier…

 

Jackie woke up with the worst headache she’d ever experienced. More accurately, she woke up with an aching pain in the back of her skull. She reached up a hand, and caressed the small bump that was slowly forming where the ganger had struck her. 

 

She opened her eyes to find the room was spinning slightly, and though the Tardis lights weren’t terribly bright, they hurt to look at. The ship hummed quietly in the background as she felt the ground beneath her fingertips, trying to find the will to push herself into a sitting position. She sure as hell wasn’t going to stay in that ship for too much longer when her daughter was out there and in danger.

 

Gripping the ship’s grating, she slowly pulled herself up, clutching her head with both hands this time as the pain began anew. She groaned, then she fought through the overwhelmingly dizzy feeling as she tried to stand up. As soon as she succeeded, she leaned heavily against a piece of the Tardis’s coral structure.  

 

She took several deep breaths as the dizziness subsided, blinking the mild spin the room had away, and slowly walking toward the Tardis doors with only one thought in mind, to find her daughter. 

 

Reaching out a cautious hand, she pulled one of the doors slightly open, and gasped slightly at what she saw. Where she was was not where she’d been. They’d been in a different room the last time she’d had her eyes open, she was fairly certain of it. This one was bigger, more like a warehouse than anything, and that was just what she could see of it. There were several large objects surrounding her that she couldn’t put a name to. 

 

It occurred to her that the surrounding area was full of potentially alien objects, but she didn’t pay them any mind as her eyes settled on the next concerning thing, the military men patrolling the warehouse room. If they caught her, what would happen? Would she be able to save Rose? She doubted it. She needed to blend in, not be caught or questioned, be unobserved and unseen if she were to save not only Rose, but the Doctor, too. Jack, Mickey, and Rose had trusted her to help them. It was time for her to do her part. 

 

She slinked back inside the Tardis again when several people wearing lab coats walked past her, seeming intent on finding something on the other side of the massive warehouse, and an idea occurred to her. She had started to wonder just how the hell she’d make it work, when she spotted one of the white coats hanging loosely off of a nearby shelf, and a relieved sigh escaped her lips as she slowly pried the Tardis doors open again, and slipped out of the ship. 

 

With a glance in either direction, Jackie crossed the brief space between herself and the white coat, and snatched the fabric from its loose position on the shelf. She swiftly thrust her arms into the sleeves, and walked out of the warehouse room through the nearest door, uncertain of where she was going, only that her daughter was somewhere in this building. She could’ve sworn when Rose had come to her flat and told her everything that her daughter had mentioned something about a third door to the right, but where was that third door?

 

She walked out into the corridor, eyes instantly settling on another lab coat clad man as he walked past her, and rounded the corner. She didn’t hesitate to follow him, making sure she stayed close, but not too close behind. 

 

Jackie Tyler was no expert on being covert, but she knew what would get her caught. She couldn’t get too close and arouse the man’s suspicions. She rounded the corner into the next corridor to find the man passing a series of doors. 

 

Growing increasingly suspicious, Jackie counted the doors as they passed, and let out an almost audible sigh of relief when the man turned into the third one on the right, and held up his identification to open it. As soon as the door opened, the man slipped inside, and Jackie followed suit as it closed behind him, hoping no one had noticed her abrupt entrance. 

 

When she looked up she found herself in yet another large room with scientific equipment placed throughout, though for the most part it lined the edges of the gold colored room. Perhaps the most striking thing about it though, was the sphere suspended about twenty feet in the air at the far end of the room. It was rather large in size, but that had nothing to do with what drew Jackie into it. 

 

There was something off about it. What was off, she couldn’t be sure, but she could feel it when she looked at the sphere, the unsettling feeling that whatever it was was simply wrong. There was something ominous about that sphere, something-

 

“Can I help you?” someone asked from behind her, interrupting her thoughts, then suddenly a lab coat wearing man was in front of her, looking at her suspiciously. 

 

“No, I was just looking at the round thing,” she told him, “It’s…”

 

The scientist glanced briefly behind him at the sphere, then turned his gaze back on her, “Try not to look, it does that to everyone. What do you want?”

 

Jackie wasn’t sure what she wanted. Well, she certainly knew what she wanted, and that was her daughter home safe, perhaps a winning lottery ticket or two… But what would a scientist want? What did the lab coat wearing Jackie want? 

 

It turned out to be exactly the same thing that regular Jackie wanted, and she briefly racked her brain for what Rose had told her would be her Torchwood alias, until she remembered. “I… I need to talk to Sarah, I’ve got some… things she needs to know…” she told the scientist before her slowly. 

The scientist stared at her skeptically, “Can I see your authorization?” he asked, causing Jackie to pale in fear. She hadn’t thought about that part of blending in with the Torchwood staff. She hadn’t thought about it at all, not even briefly. 

 

She gave him an awkward smile, then began shuffling through her pockets to pretend to try and find her identification. She quickly came up empty handed, and shrugged, “Must’ve dropped it somewhere, always doing that,” she told him with a hint of a laugh. 

 

The man standing between herself and the sphere did not seem to share her sense of humor, “That’s lucky, see, no one in Torchwood gets anywhere without some form of identification,” he replied, then he turned back to face two scientists who were working beneath the sphere, writing readings down onto clipboards, “Seal the room, call security. Samuel? Sarah? Check the locks, she just walked right in. 

 

Jackie gulped nervously as the scientists on the far side of the room turned around, but her nerves turned to relief when she saw that they were Mickey and Rose. The situation no longer seemed frightening now that she knew who would be calling security. 

 

“Doing it now, sir,” Rose said, walking past Jackie to the door she’d just come through, and checking that the lock was functional.

 

“Well, if you’d like to take a seat,” the scientist said, gesturing to a stool placed in front of a desk at the far end of the room. 

 

Jackie blushed, mildly embarrassed by the encounter, but obliged him, and walked with him to the other side of the room before taking her seat on the stool as the scientist pulled up something on the monitor that sat atop the desk. There was a brief ringing sound before a woman’s face appeared on the screen. 

 

“Yvonne?” the scientist asked the woman, “I think you should see this, we’ve got a visitor. We don’t know who she is, but funnily enough, she arrived at the same time as the Doctor.”

 

The woman on the screen looked confused, “Well, I’d ask him about it, but he and his companion just left,” she replied, “They’re talking.”

 

Suddenly another voice spoke up from behind them, “Did his companion happen to look just like me?” Rose’s voice called out, causing both Jackie and the scientist to turn around abruptly, “‘Cause I’ve got something important to tell you.”

 

“Yes, she did,” the scientist and Yvonne said at the same time, with the latter adding, “Why?” a second later. 

 

“That’s not Rose Tyler,” Rose told them, making space between Rajesh and Jackie to speak to the woman who had been her boss for the past week, “That’s a fake, she’s a flesh ganger, the real Rose Tyler is me. The woman who just walked off with the Doctor? She’s under orders to kill him. You’ve got to find them, she could be killing him right now.”

 

“What? Sarah what are you talking about?” Rajesh asked, looking offended as he turned around. 

 

“I’m not Sarah, I just told you, I’m Rose, and  _ that’s  _ my mum, Jackie,” she replied, pointing a finger in Jackie’s direction, causing her mother to beam with pride, “But who I am isn’t important. You need to keep the Doctor away from her. Save the Doctor, that’s your only chance to stop what’s coming.”

 

“What’s coming?” Yvonne asked, then she looked up and away from the camera at something they couldn’t see, and she stood up, walking away from her monitor, “Excuse me, I thought I said stop the ghost shift,” she told people they couldn’t see. 

 

Rose slowly backed away from the monitor, and glanced back at the sphere, then at Mickey, who’d been standing behind her the entire time, “Looks like it’s starting,” she told him, “You ready?”

 

Mickey nodded, “Born ready,” he told her, taking her hand in his as the two stared up at the sphere, its menacing presence no longer seeming threatening in the face of what was to come. 

 

Meanwhile at the top of Torchwood tower, Yvonne was swiftly losing control of her operation, watching helplessly as her workers began to shift the levers into position, and bring the ghost shift into its beginning. “Stop it!” she ordered them, “I said to stop the ghost shift!”

 

It was futile, she was quickly realizing, and with a slight hesitation, she turned to the men guarding the area, and ordered them to follow her down the hall where the Doctor and the woman who was supposedly a murderous flesh ganger had gone just moments earlier, “Doctor!” she cried, she and the guards running faster than they’d ever run before, “Doctor! They started the ghost shift! We can’t stop them!” she shouted as she approached, seeing the Doctor and the woman he’d brought with him sitting on the floor, “We…”

 

Yvonne’s run came to a screeching halt as she realized why they were sitting. The Doctor was lying on the ground with a knife in his gut, a pool of blood slowly spreading beneath him, staining his clothes, and paling his skin as she watched in confused terror. The flesh ganger was looking up at Yvonne with pain and regret through the tears in her eyes, her hands clutching her head so tightly she feared it would burst then and there. 

 

The ganger was indeed in tears, clutching her head as she looked up at Yvonne, who was staring between her and the Doctor, who was still doing his best to apply pressure to his wounds as the blood soaked through his jacket, staining the brown material a deep crimson. His breathing was uneven and almost labored as he looked up at Yvonne with a terrified look in his eyes, but what he was scared of, Rose was unsure.   
  
“What the hell happened?” Yvonne cried, then she looked at the guards, “Help him! He’s the one with all the answers!”  
  
In a swift movement, the three men by Yvonne’s side reached down for the Doctor, and slowly helped him to stand. He cried out involuntarily when they first tried to move him, then again when they tried to remove the knife from his third stab wound, “Don’t!” he cried, “Leave it in!”  
  
The guard who’d tried to remove the weapon instantly removed his hand, and continued to assist the time lord as he stood in a hunched position. It was then that the ganger slowly stood, and blinked more tears from her eyes as she watched him suffer before her. It was her fault, she’d done that. She’d caused him that pain, she was going to be responsible for his death, she’d felt it. If that hadn’t been the final blow that ended his life, she would still be perfectly content with killing, but now… It was like he’d said to her moments before she’d stabbed him. The face of everyone she’d ever killed was flashing before her eyes.   
  
Yvonne looked back at the ganger, “What happened to her? Did you see who did this?” she asked, not sure if she believed Sarah’s story about this Rose being a fraud. For all she knew, Sarah was the one who was fradulent, not the woman standing before her claiming to be Rose Tyler. .   
  
“It was me,” the ganger all but whispered, confirming that Sarah was in fact Rose, “I did it.”  
  
The eyes of five people landed on her, though the Doctor was the only one who held any sense of actual emotion in the gaze he directed at her. Through his eyes she could see a world of pain, anger, sadness, and even sympathy. She couldn’t understand why the hell he would ever think to sympathize with her when she’d just mortally wounded him.   
  
“What?” Yvonne asked, bewildered.   
  
“I stabbed him,” the ganger uttered out, staring at the ceiling so she wouldn’t have to see the heartbroken look in the Doctor’s eyes, “It was me, I was under orders… I was wrong…” she sobbed as she spoke.  
  
Yvonne looked at the three men before her, who were currently supporting the Doctor, “It doesn’t take three men to hold one man up, restrain her,” she ordered the one who’d attempted to remove the knife from the Doctor.   
  


The guard, whose name the ganger recalled to be Sebastian from their earlier encounter, let go of the Doctor, and took both of her arms in one of his hands, pinning them behind her as he reached for a pair of handcuffs before cuffing her a little too tightly for her liking. The ganger let out a whimper, but didn’t protest. She’d just stabbed the Doctor, she’d just condemned him to either death or regeneration. She deserved the pain. 

 

“Now we need to get going, we’ve got to stop this ghost shift,” Yvonne told them, then she, her guards, the Doctor, and the ganger made their way back down the corridor toward the lever room. 

 

The Doctor let out occasional pained noises as they went, but otherwise remained relatively silent as they walked into the lever room to find all of the Torchwood employees working there seemingly going on autopilot. Each one moved as if they didn’t realize they were doing so as they typed orders into computers. The time lord stared on at them, and keeping his hands pressed to his wounds, he walked over to one of the women typing at the computers with the guards’ assistance, “What’s she doing?” he asked curiously. 

 

Yvonne was quick to be by his side, snapping her fingers in front of the woman, “Addy, step away from the desk,” she ordered her, “Listen to me. Step away from the desk.”

 

Barely another second passed before the Doctor seemed to realize what was happening, “She c-can’t hear you,” he told Yvonne, looking at the ear devices Addy was wearing. 

 

A sinking feeling developed in the ganger’s gut when she realized just where she’d seen those devices. They’d been in the parallel universe. They were what Lumic had used to bring people into the Cybus factories to convert people into Cybermen… And if they were in this universe… So were the… “Oh no,” she breathed, “It’s controlling them isn’t it? Like in that universe?”

 

The Doctor glanced up at her weakly, seeming to blink back tears when he looked at her, “Yeah, it is,” he replied, looking away from her and at one of the guards helping him to stand, “Put pressure on this, would you?” he asked him, glancing down at one of his wounds before slowly removing his hand, allowing the guard to replace it as he reached into his pocket with a pained grunt, and took out his sonic screwdriver. 

 

All they could do was watch as the time lord pressed the sonic device against Addy’s ear, and pressed its button, lighting up its blue tip, and ending the woman’s life with an agonizing scream. But it wasn’t just her, it was everyone in that room with the similar devices. The people with

 

“What happened? What did you just do?” Yvonne asked him, a hint of panic in her voice. 

 

“They’re dead,” the Doctor replied plainly, gritting his teeth as he spoke, making it evident to the ganger that he was holding back a scream as he stood.

 

“You killed them.”

 

“Oh, someone else did that long before I got here,” he hissed, putting the sonic back in his pocket.

 

Yvonne bent down over Addy’s recently deceased body, and stared at her curiously, “What are these ear pieces?”

 

“Don’t,” the Doctor warned her, pailing in the bright light that illuminated the room.

 

“But they’re standard comms, devices,” Yvonne protested,  poking at the Cybus device, “How does it control them?”

 

“Trust me, leave them alone.”

 

Unfortunately for them, the woman in charge of Torchwood wasn’t the kind to take orders, and she gripped one of the ear devices, pulling it and a rope of wet, gray brain material out of Addy’s ear. She let out a terrified scream, “It goes inside their brain!” she cried, letting go of the device as she jumped back. 

 

“What about the ghost shift?” the ganger asked, trying to distract from the disgusting sight before her as she watched the levers shift into position. 

 

Yvonne turned and glared at the ganger, but glanced over at the computer one of the other Torchwood employees had been using, and told them, “Ninety percent, and still running. Can’t you stop it?”

 

“Not in my current state,” the Doctor replied, “I’m sorry, but I can try and trace the signal, find out where they’re transmitting from, regain control.”

 

She gave him a nod, then she looked at her guards, “Take that girl into my office, leave her there,” she told them, gesturing to the ganger who was behind her, “She’s a prisoner now. We need her out of here if we’re going to stop this, and someone bring the Doctor a chair.”

 

The men quickly set to work, one on getting the chair, and another taking the ganger into Yvonne’s office, cuffing her to the leg of the woman’s desk. She could only watch as they stole the swivel chair from behind the desk and wheeled it out into the lever room before the Doctor sat down in it with a groan that was audible even from where she sat. 

 

Another wave of guilt washed over her as she watched the time lord pull out his sonic screwdriver for the second time, and began scanning the room. “I’m sorry,” she whispered, knowing full well that he couldn’t hear her. She didn’t want him to. She didn’t know how she’d ever speak to him again, how she ever could’ve gotten to the point where she was willing to kill him. How the hell had she so blindly followed Madame Kovarian’s orders? 

 

Something about the moment she’d stabbed the Doctor had provided her with a clarity she was fairly certain she didn’t want, but at the same time, she needed it. If she didn’t have it, she was also certain that she’d be trying to kill Yvonne and her team and making the situation far worse than it already was. 

 

She looked up at the Doctor again, only to see him being led out of the room by Yvonne and her guards with the sonic screwdriver pointed ahead of them down another corridor. She sighed, and leaned her head against the desk as she wallowed in her thoughts until she heard Rajesh’s voice calling out for Yvonne a moment later, “We’ve got a problem down here, Yvonne,” he was telling her, “Can you hear me?”   
  


The ganger froze, unsure on whether or not she should respond. Just what the hell would she be able to do for him? She didn’t understand a single thing about Torchwood. She had no idea how she’d help him. 

 

“Yvonne for god’s sake, the sphere is active!” Rajesh shouted, causing the ganger to unfreeze, and spring into action. 

 

It was futile though, she quickly realized. The cuffs prevented her from reaching the other side of the desk that the monitor was facing. She wouldn’t be able to reach Rajesh from there, and even though she could probably still speak to him, she still didn’t know what the hell she’d be able to do for him. She knew very little about Torchwood, she knew even less about the sphere. She knew nothing about it.

 

“The readings are going wild! It's got weight, it's got mass, an electromagnetic field. It exists!” Rajesh was shouting, and the ganger could hear the noise level in the sphere room rising audibly by the second, “The door’s sealed, automatic quarantine… We can’t get out!” he continued from further away. 

 

“Doctor!” the ganger cried out, fairly certain that the time lord couldn’t hear her from where he was, and if he could, he wouldn’t come. Why would he? She’d just stabbed him. He was either unable to hear her, unwilling to help because of what she’d just done, or she’d succeeded in her mission and he’d died once they’d taken him away. All she could do was watch through the glass as the Torchwood scientists struggled to stop the levers from reaching activation point.

 

It was true, the Doctor couldn’t hear her. He was too far down the corridor with Yvonne and the three guards that had followed them down there. The time lord stared intently at the blue tip of his sonic screwdriver as it led them further and further away from the lever room and the ganger. It was proving to be his sole distraction from the pain of his stab wounds, which ached with every breath he took. He was almost positive that she’d nicked one of his lungs in her attack. He was also positive that at some point that day, he’d regenerate, and if he didn’t… That wasn’t something he fancied thinking about. 

 

He also didn’t want to think about how fucking stupid he’d been for the past month while Rose had been kept prisoner somewhere. He didn’t want to think about how it had been an entire month since he’d seen her, or since she’d seen him. An entire month since he’d let her leave her mum’s flat, answering her “what’s the worst thing that could happen,” with a, “nothing, I suppose,” not knowing that the worst thing that could happen did happen. 

 

In that moment he knew that there would never be something he regretted more than leaving Rose alone that night, than letting her go off by herself to get the tool kit from the ship. All of the if thens started flashing in front of his eyes. All of the signs that Rose wasn’t truly Rose suddenly seemed glaringly obvious, especially one of the first. 

 

Just what had she been doing holding that wrench when they’d been fixing the drier together? Why the hell had she kissed him that very same night? Where had she gone just minutes after getting back from the Tardis? Why had he always gotten that knotted feeling in his stomach whenever he and Rose had intimate moments over that past month since he’d told her how he felt? 

 

Every single time their lips had touched, and her hands ghosted over his body, he’d felt something wrong. He’d tried to convince himself otherwise, tried to make sense of the feeling. He’d told himself he just wasn’t ready for it yet, but how long could he lie to himself when he had that gut feeling telling him that it was wrong?

 

How had he missed it when Rose had come back from going after Magpie in 1953 seeming different, and the villain had been magically defeated? Or all of her weird behavior after each concert they’d gone to, and the way she almost seemed distant half of the time? He could suddenly see clearly how oddly Mickey had behaved around Rose in their final moments together in the parallel universe. He’d known Mickey had definitely known. How the hell had the Doctor missed it?

 

Or the weird things he’d thought he might’ve heard from Rose but had assumed to be someone else over the comms on Krop Tor? He’d half thought it was the Beast messing with his head… But what if… 

 

The Beast had called her ‘the False Girl.’ That right there should’ve been an obvious signal, but he’d missed it.  He’d missed what the meaning was behind, “you will win, but you will fall… so far into the endless night…” At least now he understood the first part of that sentence, but what the hell was that endless night? 

 

All throughout that day he’d been getting signals from the woman he’d thought was Rose that something was wrong. It was the reason he’d been avoiding her gaze, avoiding contact with her unless necessary. He was trying to convince himself that he was just being paranoid. This wasn’t like it was with Cassandra. With her he’d known almost instantly because she hadn’t resembled his Rose in the slightest. This ganger had all of Rose’s memories, she knew precisely how to be Rose. She was a much better actress than Cassandra could ever hope to be, and she had a much longer game to play. Still he wondered how he could’ve been so foolish. How he missed it even with all of those signs. 

 

But perhaps the most important question, and the one causing him the most pain, was where was Rose? What had happened to his pink and yellow human? The ganger had told him she’d escaped, but where had she escaped to? Wherever it was, there was one thing of which he was absolutely positive: he’d find her. He always found her. They kept trying to split them apart, and they never ever would.

With that in mind, the Doctor glanced up, and looking further down at a part of the corridor that seemed to be under construction, he asked, “What’s down here?”

 

Yvonne shrugged, “I don’t know, I think it’s just building work,” she told him calmly, “Just renovations.”

 

As they approached, the Doctor reached out, and pushed one of the plastic curtains covering up the renovated portion of the floor aside, thoughts digging through just what the hell could be doing this as he remembered something the ganger of all people had said just moments earlier… “Just like in the other universe…” he whispered out loud, his voice just barely audible.

 

“What was that?” Yvonne asked.

 

“Ear pieces, ear pods,” the Doctor replied, voice much clearer this time, “Controlling them… The ganger was right, this universe is bleeding into another… And I think I know which one,” he added, pointing the screwdriver at another plastic curtain as heavy, metallic sounding footsteps approached, and a familiar silhouette appeared on the other side of the curtain. 

 

“What are they?” the woman behind him inquired, looking in another direction at a different silhouette which had appeared before her behind another curtain. 

 

The Doctor weakly shook his head, “They came through first, the advanced guard,” he told her, “Cybermen.”

 

At the sound of their name, the Cybermen tore through the plastic curtains on all sides, and advanced on the group. Yvonne’s guards fired their guns on them, but the bullets ricocheted, and fell to the ground uselessly as the metal men continued their march. 

 

The Cybermen walked until they reached Yvonne and the Doctor, then one of them pointed its arm at the Doctor, the small gun staring the time lord in the face. “YOU WILL STAND,” the Cyberman commanded him. 

 

Grimacing, the Doctor internally gathered his strength, then with the adrenaline provided from being threatened, he pushed himself into a standing position, gritting his teeth as he turned white as a sheet from the pain this caused him. Outwardly, he said nothing, but on the inside he was screaming. 

 

“Yvonne, put your hands up, and do as they say,” he told the woman beside him, and just this once, she did as he said without question.

 

The Cyberman nearest to the Doctor shifted to face the two of them, pointing its weapon at the Doctor’s head. Another one joined it shortly after, and pointed its weapon at Yvonne’s. “MOVE,” the Cybermen commanded them simultaneously. 

 

Yvonne and the Doctor walked ahead, following the Cybermen’s instructions to move forward as they walked back down the corridor they’d come from with their hands up. In the Doctor’s case, it was one hand, seeing as the other was busy keeping some sort of pressure on his wounds, though he knew it wouldn’t do him any good. He’d bleed out in a matter of hours. The only reason he’d lasted this long was because of his time lord biology. He hoped he’d regenerate before that happened. This last regeneration had gone a bit sideways, and he didn’t want to know how bad the next one would be. 

 

The Cybermen led them back to the lever room, where the scientists were still struggling to stop the levers from shifting into position. The Doctor looked behind them to see that more Cybermen were following them into the room, and managing to keep his voice level, he ordered them to do as the metal men instructed, not to protest. 

 

The scientists listened, but the Cybermen still weren’t merciful. He hadn’t thought they would be, but he’d still held out hope. “Don’t shoot!” he cried as the Cybermen raised their weapon arms, and shot the scientists, who fell to the floor with agonized screams. 

 

“What the hell?” Yvonne asked beside him, slowly lowering her hands.

 

“WE ARE THE CYBERMEN,” the silver creature before them explained, “THE GHOST SHIFT WILL BE INCREASED TO ONE HUNDRED PERCENT.” 

 

With that, it crossed its arm over its chest, turning to face the levers, and as if they had a mind of their own, the levers rose into position, and the light in the room grew brighter as the grey outlines of the ghosts began to appear around them with the computerized announcement of, “online.”

 

“But these Cybermen, what have they got to do with the ghosts?” Yvonne asked.

 

The Doctor would’ve laughed if he didn’t think it would hurt, “A footprint doesn’t look like a boot,” he replied, “They’re Cybermen. All of the ghosts are Cybermen, millions of them. All across the world.”

 

At that moment, the ghosts solidified into more Cybermen, a dozen or so appeared just in the lever room alone. No one wanted to think about what was happening in the outside world. What sort of havoc they must’ve been wreaking out there…

 

The Doctor looked briefly behind him out the window as the Cybermen approached, watching even more Cybermen fly around outside the building. As he turned back, he briefly looked down at the ganger, who was still cuffed to the desk, her head hung in shame. He knew precisely what she was feeling. He was feeling much the same, ashamed of what he’d done, that he hadn’t noticed the fake, that he hadn’t been able to stop her. By the time he reunited with Rose, would he still have the same face? Would he even still be alive? He’d heard of times when time lords had been too injured to regenerate. Was this one of those times?

 

“They’re invading the whole planet,” Yvonne said in a calm voice. 

 

The time lord shook his head, “It’s not an invasion, it’s too late for that. It’s a victory,” he replied, leaning against the nearest desk for support.

 

His attention was quickly stolen by the sound of a computerized voice announcing, “Sphere activated,” repeatedly, the digitized image of the sphere flashing before him each time the two words were spoken. 

 

Curiously, he looked up at the Cybermen, and leaned further into the desk as he spoke, “But I don’t understand, the Cybermen don’t have the technology to build a void ship, that’s way beyond you. How did you create that sphere?”

 

“THE SPHERE IS NOT OURS,” the Cyberman in front of him replied. 

 

A sinking feeling began to develop in the Doctor’s gut, and it wasn’t just the blood that was slowly draining from the aforementioned area into his clothing, “What?” he asked, blanching whiter than was healthy for any species. 

 

“THE SPHERE BROKE DOWN THE BARRIER BETWEEN WORLDS,” The Cyberman explained, “WE ONLY FOLLOWED. ITS ORIGIN IS UNKNOWN.”

 

“Then what’s inside it?” the Doctor asked, fighting back the tremble that threatened to creep its way into his voice. 

 

Meanwhile in the sphere laboratory, chaos was descending. As soon as Yvonne had left their video call, the entire tower had shaken, leaving Rajesh, Jackie, Rose, and Mickey in a state of confusion until it shook again, and suddenly the sphere had readings. 

 

“What the hell?” Jackie asked as she stared up at it in awe, watching as a brilliant light began to appear from the top of the sphere. Behind her, there was a slamming sound as the doors to the laboratory shut, and she turned in panic to see Rajesh shutting down the video call and rushing toward them. 

 

She on the other hand, turned to Mickey, and Rose, who were staring at the sphere and whispering quietly despite the chaos surrounding them, “What are you two going on about?” she asked, folding her arms in front of her. 

 

“Mum, remember what we told you?” Rose asked, “Last week when we came to the flat, we told you about the Cybermen, how they came into this universe?”

 

Jackie nodded slowly, and Mickey continued Rose’s explanation, “They’re in there, Jackie. We’re not sure how, but they sent that thing through first. We’re not exactly sure what’s in there, some sort of Cyber-King, Cyber controller… Whatever it is, though, we’ll get him.”

 

“How?”

 

Rose and Mickey looked at each other, then nodded, shedding their lab coats, and walking over to the sphere’s platform, reaching underneath it, and pulling out some rather large guns before walking back over to Jackie, and pointing them at the sphere as it began to open. 

 

“We’ve defeated them before, we’ll do it again,” Rose promised her mother, ignoring the sound of Rajesh’s footsteps as he approached the three of them. 

 

“What the hell are you doing? Rose? Samuel?” Rajesh asked, staring at the guns the two held in their hands.

 

“The name’s Mickey,” he corrected, “Mickey Smith. Defending the Earth.” 

 

He and Rose shared another grin, then they stared intently at the sphere as it broke into layers, and a bright light was emitted from the inside as the outer shell of the ship slowly lowered to reveal whatever was inside. The light grew brighter as it went on, and eventually a silhouette appeared over the top of it, but the silhouette didn’t belong to a Cyberman of any sort. No, it belonged to another terror that Rose had nightmares about.

 

“No,” she breathed. 

 

“That’s not Cybermen,” Mickey said, eyebrows furrowing in fear and confusion as he lowered his gun slightly.

 

The three of them slowly backed away from the sphere as the Daleks flew out of it, landing on the ground before them with quiet thuds, “LOCATION; EARTH,” one of them announced, “LIFE FORMS DETECTED. EXTERMINATE! EXTERMINATE! EXTERMINATE!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I also love the coincidence of this chapter finally getting published on the eleventh anniversary of Army of Ghosts.


	29. Doomsday: Descent into Chaos

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am just gonna stop apologizing for things being late since it's all writer's block. Anyway, this is here, and it's the last chapter before the Doctor and Rose finally reunite so I'm excited. I started this story three years ago (I published it elsewhere first) so basically in this little universe they haven't seen each other in three years... Writer's block is a bitch. Anyway here's the next chapter kids.

“Daleks! You’re called Daleks!” Rose cried, stopping the wicked metal pepper shakers as they approached menacingly. They all but screeched as they came to a halt before her, four eye stalks staring intently at the blonde as she swallowed nervously, “Think about it how can I know that? A human who knows about the Daleks and the Time War. If you want to know how, then keep us alive. That's all I'm asking. Me and my friends.”

 

Mickey, Jackie, and Rajesh all looked at each other nervously, but each quickly followed with their own, “Yeah, me too,” or a “Yeah, I know all about the Daleks.”

 

There was a pause once they’d all spoken. A tense pause as the four looked between them unsure whether they’d make it out of this encounter alive. It felt like forever before the black colored Dalek nearest to them announced, “YOU WILL BE NECESSARY,” and a sense of relief washed over them. 

 

As if it had said nothing, the Dalek then turned to the other three Daleks, and the other mysterious contraption that had come out of the mysterious sphere in the midst of all the chaos, “WHAT IS THE STATUS OF THE GENISIS ARK?”

 

“STATUS, HIBERNATION,” announced another as it approached the odd, yet Dalek-esque contraption. Whatever it was, wasn’t good, and it most certainly belonged to them. 

 

“The Daleks,” Mickey whispered into Rose’s ear, “You said they were all dead.”

 

She nodded, “They were, we defeated them two hundred thousand years from now,” she replied, shaking her head, “We need the Doctor. Last thing we heard of him though he was alone with her…” she looked at the ground worriedly, suddenly feeling uncertain that she’d find the Doctor alive, or at least, with the same face. 

 

Jackie rested a reassuring hand on her daughter’s arm, “I’m sure he’s fine, that man could survive anything.”

 

Rose new for sure that the Doctor couldn’t survive everything. What happened on Satellite Five had been enough to assure her of that, but she simply gave her mum a grim smile, “We need to get out of here,” she told the others, “Wait till they’re distracted somehow.”

 

“Whatever you’re thinking, I’m in,” Mickey said, a subtle smirk gracing his features. 

 

The two grinned at each other until one of the Daleks, the black one that had spoken to them earlier, interrupted them suddenly, “WHICH OF YOU IS LEAST IMPORTANT?” it asked. 

 

Taken aback by the odd question, Rose raised an eyebrow, “What the hell’s that supposed to mean?”

 

“WHICH OF YOU IS LEAST IMPORTANT?”

 

Rose shook her head, “No, we don’t work like that, none of us.”

 

“DESIGNATE THE LEAST IMPORTANT!”

 

At that moment, Rajesh stepped forward, speaking for the first time since the Daleks had surprised them by coming out of the sphere, “This is my responsibility,” he said nervously.

 

“Don’t,” Rose warned him, placing a hand on his arm, “They’ll kill you.”

 

Rajesh ignored her, “I… uh… Represent the Torchwood Institute,” he told the evil beings before them, “Anything you need, you come through me. Leave these two alone.”

 

“YOU WILL KNEEL,” the black Dalek ordered him. 

 

Rose’s heart raced in her chest as Rajesh confusedly asked, “What for?”

 

“KNEEL.”

 

Rajesh finally obeyed the Dalek’s order, and kneeled before it, looking up at the creature expectantly. “THE DALEKS NEED INFORMATION ABOUT CURRENT EARTH HISTORY,” the Dalek explained.

 

The scientist nodded, “Yeah, well, I can give you a certain amount of intelligence but nothing that will compromise Homeland security.”

 

“SPEECH IS NOT NECESSARY, WE WILL EXTRACT BRAIN WAVES,” the Dalek told him as it approached, extending the arm that resembled a toilet plunger, and beginning to envelop Rajesh’s head with it. 

 

“No! Don’t! I’ll tell you everything!” Rajesh screamed, but his protests fell on deaf ears as the other three Daleks pressed their plunger arms against his head, and began to extract his brainwaves. 

 

Rose turned away as Rajesh’s screams faded into nothing, not wanting to see him die before her eyes. Mickey wrapped his arms around her, and simply held her for a moment as the Daleks continued the process. 

  
Their moment was interrupted a little too quickly by Jackie, who tapped them both on the shoulder, alerting them to her presence, “They’re distracted, we should go,” she told them, tilting her head in the direction of the dying Rajesh. 

 

The younger Tyler knew her mother was right, but she couldn’t find the will to move as she listened to the sounds of the Daleks extracting Rajesh’s brainwaves. Eventually, Mickey spoke up, “We can’t, Rajesh quarantined this room.”

 

“Don’t you have that little… dimension jumping thing?” Rose asked suddenly, bringing the two of them to attention, keeping watch on the Daleks from the corner of her eye. 

 

Mickey gave her a firm nod, “Yeah, I do, let’s go while they’re still distracted,” he replied, taking Rose’s hand in his, and making a move for the door, stopping when he realized she wasn’t moving behind him. She was staying put, staring solemnly at him. “What?”

 

“You go,” she told him, “Take my mum, and go, get out of here, find the Doctor, and please don’t get shot by the Cybermen.”

 

Her former boyfriend’s eyes widened, “You expect me to just leave you here?” he asked, bewildered, wondering how she could even think he’d do that. 

 

“I know the Daleks best,” she explained, “I need to know what this ‘genesis ark’ is. Whatever it is, it’s not good, and we’ve got a mission that isn’t just saving the Doctor. Two universes are at stake.”

 

Mickey thought through what she was telling him for a moment, then he sighed in defeat, “I’ve got to tell the Torchwood from home about the other bad guys anyway,” he replied in agreement, then he turned to Jackie, and pulled out one of the little, yellow dimension hoppers from his pocket, and handed it to her before pulling out another, “Ready to see another universe, Jackie?”

 

“No!” she cried, turning to her daughter, “I’m not leaving you here.”

 

“Mum, I’ll be fine,” she told her, “They won’t kill me, not with what I know.”

 

“But, Rose-”

 

“I’ll be fine, now go,” she reached out, and squeezed her mother’s hand, “Get out of here before they see you’ve gone.”

 

Jackie hesitated, but then she glanced at Mickey, who smiled grimly, but kindly as she held the button in her hands, “What do I do?”

 

He winked, “Watch this,” he replied, pressing his button, then the two of them disappeared, leaving Rose alone with four intimidating Daleks, one Genesis Ark, and one dead scientist.

 

Rajesh was finally released, and there was a horrible thud as his body fell to the floor. This was followed by a whirring sound as the Daleks turned around to find that Rose was now alone, and Mickey and Jackie had gone. The blonde turned to face them, a wicked grin on her face as she realized they’d successfully escaped. They might have a chance to save the Doctor and the universes yet. 

 

“WHERE ARE THE OTHERS?” one of the Daleks asked, and if Daleks had emotions, Rose would’ve mistaken its tone for anger. 

 

She scoffed, “Somewhere you’ll never find them,” she retorted, her grin only growing wider as she stared them down, the sensation somewhat reminding her of her evil counterpart that was somewhere in this building, somewhere with the Doctor. 

 

“WHERE ARE THEY?”

 

“They’re safe, that’s where they are,” she replied calmly, crossing her arms as she took a cautious step toward the Daleks, “So, now you know everything about current Earth history, what’s the Genesis Ark?”

 

The Dalek waved off her question with, “THAT IS NOT YOUR CONCERN,” then it turned to the others, “HIS MIND SPOKE OF A SECOND SPECIES INVADING EARTH INFECTED BY SUPERSTITION OF GHOSTS.”

 

Rose cleared her throat, “He could’ve told you that! You didn’t have to bloody kill him!”

 

“NEITHER DID WE NEED HIM ALIVE,” that Dalek replied.

 

The black Dalek moved forward, “DALEK THAY, INVESTIGATE OUTSIDE,” it ordered the Dalek that had been speaking to Rose. 

 

“I OBEY,” it announced, then it moved toward the door. 

 

Rose watched it go, then looked at the other three, “Are you going to tell me what the Genesis Ark is?” she asked. 

 

“DALEKS DO NOT TAKE ORDERS FROM HUMANS.”

 

“It wasn’t an order, I was just asking.”

 

“DALEKS DO NOT ANSWER HUMAN QUESTIONS.”

 

With a sigh, Rose stepped back, leaning against the nearest wall as the Dalek the black one had just referred to as Thay opened the doors to the laboratory, and rolled out into the corridor. She rested her head against the wall, staring up at the ceiling in hopes that her mother and Mickey had successfully gotten to the other universe. All she could do was hope they’d make it out of this alive, that the two universes would still be intact by the day’s end, and that the ganger had failed at her mission. 

 

Meanwhile, Mickey and Jackie landed in the parallel Canary Wharf with a squeal from the latter of the two as they appeared suddenly in the middle of a white corridor. The resemblance between the two buildings was uncanny, except this one  had much more dust gathering on its surfaces, as if it hadn’t been used in a while. 

 

“Where the hell are we?” Jackie asked, looking around at the white walls in curiosity. 

 

“Parallel Torchwood,” Mickey explained, taking her hand and leading her down the corridor, “I can explain later, but Jackie we’ve got to warn everyone. They’ve got no idea about the Daleks.”

 

Jackie said nothing, simply following Mickey down the corridor, not even bothering to strike up casual conversation as they went. They walked until they reached the end, rounding a corner to find themselves in the parallel lever room, only this one had a lot more cables and miscellaneous pieces of technology scattered about the floor.

 

“Where the hell are they?” Mickey asked, “I told them to stay here until I signaled them.”

 

“Who’s they?” Jackie inquired.

 

She wouldn’t have to wait very long for an answer. At that moment, they heard a small zapping noise, and before them appeared nearly a dozen people decked out in black armor of some sort, and one person in a very familiar looking pinstriped suit leaning heavily on a man with a head of blonde hair. 

 

“That would be them,” Mickey told Jackie as he walked over to the group, approaching the blonde soldier first, “Looks like you found him alive, then.”

 

The blonde stared at Mickey with a worried look in his eyes, then he glanced back at the man leaning against him in concern, “Yeah, but for how long?”

 

Jackie walked up beside Mickey as the blonde and the pinstriped man turned to face him, watching in confusion as his eyes drifted down, then widened in alarm, “No,” Mickey breathed, stepping back in shock. 

 

“What is it, what’s wrong?” Jackie asked as she approached, her own eyes finding the man’s face, and at first an expression of relief appeared on her face as she recognized the man as the Doctor. That expression quickly changed to one of horror when she saw just what Mickey had been staring at. 

 

The Doctor’s abdomen was nearly drenched in blood. The fabric in his suit had been torn in three, crimson stained places, one of which still had a knife stuck in it, and the horrific liquid had completely soaked the front of his suit jacket. The time lord’s face had paled beyond what was considered healthy, and little beads of sweat had appeared on his face as he leaned heavily into the blonde man beside him. His eyes wouldn’t even look up to meet Jackie’s. Whether this was out of pride or whether he was just too weakened by his injuries to look up at her, she couldn’t tell. 

 

All she knew was that they’d failed. Despite everything they had failed. An instant feeling of guilt washed over Jackie. If she just hadn’t confronted the ganger, if she hadn’t spoken to her when they’d arrived at Torchwood, she wouldn’t have been knocked out. She could’ve stopped the Doctor from being stabbed. Now the man before her, the man she’d grown to care for, the man her daughter loved deeply though she denied it, was dying, and there was nothing she could do. 

 

“No!” she cried, her hand covering her mouth to stop the screams that would inevitably follow. It couldn’t be happening. It couldn’t. She looked away as the people that had appeared before her and Mickey rested the Doctor against a nearby desk, and began to tend to his injuries. Mickey quickly joined them, but Jackie couldn’t watch. She could only hear it in faint echoes as if she were hallucinating as they opened his jacket and oxford, as they yelled for bandages, for someone to tell them what had stabbed him.

 

Jackie knew what had stabbed him. She’d been threatened with that very weapon hours earlier in her flat. Her daughter had indirectly been threatened with it as well. It was the only thing that had bought her silence in making sure the ganger’s secret hadn’t been found out early. She was fairly certain the Doctor knew about the false girl now that he’d been stabbed. She wished with all of her being that it hadn’t been that way, that they’d succeeded. All of that planning… all of that effort, and it had gone to waste. 

 

It felt like hours went by as the mysterious soldiers worked to save the Doctor, but it was only minutes as Jackie stared at the watch on her wrist. At some point she’d turned around to see the soldiers’ hands stained crimson, and she watched as the Doctor screamed in pain as some sort of liquor was poured over the wounds he’d received from the ganger. She watched in horror for a moment, then she stepped forward, and walked between the soldiers until she reached the time lord. 

 

They tried to stop her, reaching out for the elder Tyler until she put her hands up to protest, “Let me help him!” she cried, not knowing what to do, except reach for the Doctor’s hand, as it shook from the pain he was in, the Doctor’s entire body trembling slightly as he panted, breathing harder than she’d ever heard him breathe while the last of the bandages were placed over his wounds in what were potentially vain attempts to stop the bleeding. 

 

“Doesn’t he need stitches?” Jackie asked, reaching up with her other hand and gently stroking the Doctor’s hair.

 

“We haven’t got the supplies,” the blonde who’d been helping him earlier confessed, “All we’ve got is this shit first aid kit the old regime left behind and some cloth. Don’t think it’s enough to help a man that’s been stabbed, but it ought to buy him some time until we can do more.”

 

“I hope that’s enough time for another threat,” Mickey warned the man Jackie assumed to be his friend, “Cause it’s not just the Cybermen anymore.”

 

“It’s the Daleks,” the Doctor added weakly, surprising them all with his words as he looked up at them, eyes focusing intently on Mickey unlike what they’d done earlier when he’d first arrived.

 

“What the hell are the Daleks?” the blonde asked. 

 

“Living hatred,” the Doctor replied, “They’re creatures genetically bred to do nothing but kill every other species in the universe with no emotions except hate trapped inside an impenetrable metal can.”

 

“What he said,” Mickey added, then he cleared his throat, “But Doctor, while we’ve got a moment, I don’t understand… What the hell happened?”

 

**Torchwood One: Thirty Minutes Earlier…**

 

“SCANS DETECT UNKNOWN TECHNOLOGY ACTIVE WITHIN SPHERE CHAMBER,” the Cyberleader announced.

 

“CYBERMEN WILL INVESTIGATE,” one of the other Cybermen replied. 

 

The Doctor watched as the Cybermen walked past him, sparing a brief glance at the ganger who was still handcuffed to the chair in Yvonne’s office. The brief glance turned into a long stare as she locked eyes with him, a pleading look in those hazel eyes he thought he knew so well. She was begging him to let her go. 

 

If he was being honest with himself, he knew he had to. The Cybermen wouldn’t just leave her there, but they would do something far worse, and she didn’t deserve that fate, not now that she’d changed. This was a new person sitting before him. She was a living thing, a human being, or as close to one as she could get. He couldn’t leave her to be subject to torture like that. 

 

He had to set her free, but he had to wait until the Cybermen were distracted. There were still far too many of them for him to enact his plan, especially in the condition he was in. A condition he was reminded of by the throbbing pain currently being emitted from each of his stab wounds, especially the one that still held a knife in it. 

 

The Doctor’s attention was recaptured a moment later when the Cyberleader walked into Yvonne’s office, its attention immediately captured by the ganger, who sat quietly on the floor staring up at it in fear. There was a heartstopping moment where the time lord feared he was too late, that he wouldn’t be able to save her, but the moment passed quickly as the Cyberleader approached Yvonne’s computer, immediately setting to work on establishing a visual link with the Cybermen it had sent down to the sphere laboratory. Yvonne, who was sat in the chair in front of the monitor, said and did nothing for once as the Cyberman did its work. 

 

Weakly, but swiftly, the Doctor pushed himself off of the desk, and followed it into the office, watching cautiously by its side as the image of the corridor outside of the laboratory appeared on Yvonne’s screen. 

 

After a moment of listening to the Cybermen’s footsteps, a familiar creature drifted onto the screen, and if the Doctor could’ve blanched further, he would’ve. A Dalek appeared on the screen before him, as hateful and as genocidal as ever as it commanded the Cybermen to, “IDENTIFY YOURSELVES.”

 

“YOU WILL IDENTIFY FIRST,” one of the Cybermen shot back.

 

“STATE YOUR IDENTITY.”

 

“YOU WILL IDENTIFY FIRST.”

 

“IDENTIFY!”

 

The Doctor watched as the borderline comedic exchange continued to unfold, stepping away from the Cyberman after a moment, and taking his sonic screwdriver out of his pocket as he approached the ganger. He knelt down beside her, wincing as he held back another scream of pain, wondering just how long he would be able to last with these wounds. He knew he could make it longer than a human. Most humans would be dead by that point, but what exactly were his limits?

 

He and the ganger stared at each other silently for a moment, both terrified of what was going to happen next. With both Cybermen and Daleks present, the situation had become infinitely more dangerous. What made it even worse was the fact that he was fairly certain he would not survive it. He wouldn’t be able to help. 

 

“Do you know what Daleks are?” the Doctor asked the ganger quietly. 

 

She nodded, “Vaguely, I remember… Looking through her memories… She was so scared of Daleks… What are they?”

 

“They are part of why I’m setting you free,” he said, pressing the sonic to the cuffs keeping her to the desk, and sonicing the cuffs until he heard a click and the cuff holding her wrist came undone. 

 

The ganger immediately pulled her hand to her chest, and rubbed her wrist with her other hand, “Why… why are you doing this? You’re probably gonna die thanks to me.”

 

Rationally, the Doctor knew he would likely regenerate before that happened, but there was another part of him that had caught on to the fact that the process hadn’t started yet. Another thought occurred to him, one that put a seed of fear in his gut that hurt almost as much as the stab wound she’d given to him not even an hour earlier; the thought that he may have been too injured to regenerate, and now he truly was living his last day. 

 

The Doctor shook his head, “You’re not like that anymore, you broke that chain when you… when you stabbed me,” he explained, “You won’t hurt anyone else.”

 

“How can you know that?”

 

The time lord didn’t know how to answer her question, instead, he looked back up at the Cyberleader, who was watching the squabble between its species and the Daleks, and sighed, “When they’re distracted, run,” he told the ganger, “Run as fast as you can, as far away from them as possible. Don’t look back, don’t stop for anything, just  _ go. _ ”

 

She nodded slowly, still softly rubbing her wrist as the Doctor began to stand up again, but then she reached up, and grabbed his hand, “Doctor, she’s here,” she said suddenly, “Rose is here. She’s the girl they said was Sarah working in the laboratory with the sphere. You should find her, at least say your goodbyes.”

 

The Doctor felt his hearts skip a beat at her words, the news that Rose was so close sending a rush through him that made him almost forget the immense pain he was in. A smile threatened to creep its way onto his features, but he held it back even as thoughts of the real Rose raced through his mind. He thought of the laugh he hadn’t heard in a month, only a faded copy of it, of the tongue in teeth grin that wasn’t masking a murderous intent, of how right it felt in the moments he was close with Rose, and realized how wrong it felt in the moments he was with the ganger. 

 

He mouthed a “thank you,” to the ganger as he stood, once again facing the Cyberleader as they watched the encounter unfold. 

 

“YOU PROPOSE AN ALLIANCE?” the Dalek onscreen asked. 

 

“THIS IS CORRECT,” the Cyberman replied. 

 

“REQUEST DENIED.”

 

“HOSTILE ELEMENTS WILL BE DELETED,” the Cyberman warned it, raising its arm as it fired its weapon at the Dalek. 

 

The weapon did nothing against the Dalek, who immediately fired its own weapon, and with a cry of, “EXTERMINATE!” the Cybermen that had gone out to face it were dead. 

 

The Cyberleader stared at its now blank screen, “OPEN VISUAL LINK! DALEKS, BE WARNED. YOU HAVE DECLARED WAR UPON THE CYBERMEN.”

 

“THIS IS NOT WAR, THIS IS PEST CONTROL,” a Dalek retorted.

 

The Doctor looked back at the ganger, then at Yvonne, both of whom looked incredibly nervous as the exchange between the two enemies went on. All three knew they had to somehow escape, but how could they when the enemy had them trapped from all sides except the window they had no hope of surviving the fall from?

 

“WE WOULD DESTROY THE CYBERMEN WITH ONLY ONE DALEK,” the Dalek was saying as the Doctor’s attention was brought back to the argument the two species were having, “YOU ARE SUPERIOR IN ONLY ONE RESPECT.”

 

“WHAT IS THAT?”

 

“YOU ARE BETTER AT DYING.”

 

The ganger chuckled quietly, “Walked into that one, mate,” she murmured so quietly the Doctor almost didn’t hear it. 

 

“RAISE COMMUNICATIONS BARRIER!” The Dalek announced, then the connection went dead. 

 

The Cyberleader turned to the other Cybermen waiting outside Yvonne’s office, “QUARANTINE THE SPHERE CHAMBER,” it commanded them, “START EMERGENCY UPGRADING. BEGIN WITH THESE PERSONNEL.” It gestured vaguely to the ganger and Yvonne, causing both women’s eyes to widen.

 

“No, you can’t do this! We surrender!” Yvonne begged as the Cybermen approached them, taking the women firmly in their grasp, “We surrendered!”

 

The ganger struggled slightly as they were led out of the room, but mostly she shouted, “Doctor, I’m sorry! I promise you, I’m sorry!” as she was ushered out. 

 

Once the two of them were gone, the Cyberleader turned to the Doctor, scanning him before he spoke, “SCANS INDICATE MORTAL WOUNDS TO THE ABDOMINAL REGION,” it announced to the others, “WE MUST WAIT TO UPGRADE. INCREASED ADRENALINE SUGGESTS HE HAS VITAL DALEK INFORMATION.”

 

The Doctor stared down the Cyberman, amazed that he was still standing despite the phenomenal amounts of pain he was in. Must’ve been that adrenaline the Cyberleader was talking about. “I’ll give you anything you need, just don’t hurt them,” he ordered it, “And don’t hurt the woman in the laboratory either.”

 

“WE WILL EXTRACT INFORMATION WHETHER OR NOT IT IS GIVEN WILLINGLY,” the Cyberman said plainly, “EMOTIONAL ATTACHMENTS WILL NOT PROVIDE LEVERAGE.”

 

A solemn look appeared on the Doctor’s face as he leaned back against the window, sinking down until he reached the floor as he waited for the Cybermen to forcefully take the information from him, but nothing happened. The Cyberman simply looked down at him for a moment. “Well, what are you waiting for?” he asked, hoping he didn’t sound as devastated as he felt.

 

“YOU ARE PROOF.”

 

“Of what?”

 

“THAT EMOTIONS DESTROY YOU.”

 

It was true. He couldn’t deny it. He was living, nine hundred years old proof that emotions destroyed people, yet despite this truth, he wouldn’t take back one second of it. All of those emotions made him what he was. The Cybermen wanted to take all of that away, everything that made him the Doctor. 

 

“Yeah, I am,” he replied, his mood suddenly shifting when he sensed a shift in the atmosphere, and a familiar smell entered his nose as the particles in the air got excited, “Mind you, hope’s a good emotion… And here it comes.”

 

Not a second later, a military-like group of people wearing black appeared suddenly in the lever room, bursting into existence in the universe. Not long after that that one of them deployed a device which wiped out all of the Cybermen in the room with a stream of electricity that instantly found their heads, killing them in seconds with pained, mechanical screams. 

 

The Cyberleader stepped out a moment later, and instantly it too was taken by the device, letting out a scream before its head exploded, and the body fell to the floor with a thud. The Doctor slowly stood, grunting in pain as he moved out of the office, and toward the mysterious people who had just saved his life. One of them took off his helmet as the time lord approached, revealing a face he was quite frankly releaved to see, “Doctor, good to see you again,” the man said, beaming at the time lord.

 

“Jake?” the Doctor moaned weakly, leaning heavily against the door frame of Yvonne’s office. 

 

The blonde man nodded, his smile still not waivering, “The Cybermen came through from one world to another, so did we,” he told the Doctor, and only then did the smile fade from his features as his eyes tracked downward to the knife still trapped inside the Doctor’s body, “What the hell happened to you?”

  
  


The Doctor sighed, “She did it, she succeeded,” he told Jake, “She had me fooled… I didn’t think…”

 

It was then that Jake said something that truly surprised the time lord, “It was the ganger, wasn’t it?”

 

“How the hell do you know about her?”

 

“Mickey, he told us right after you left. We’ve been trying to get back here ever since, in part to save your life…”

 

“Well, you might not be too late,” the Doctor said, trying to instill some hope back into the newly desolate look on Jake’s face, “I could still live, but I’ll need help.”

 

Jake gave him a firm nod, “Absolutely,” he told him, “But we can’t help you here, there’re Cybermen everywhere. We need to go somewhere else.”

 

“Where? I can’t leave, I have to find Rose. The real one. She’s trapped at the bottom of the tower with Daleks.”

 

“Daleks?”

 

“I can explain later, but I have to save Rose first.”

 

Jake shook his head this time, “Not if you’re dead, you won’t,” he assured him, pulling a device reminiscent of a yellow button out of his pocket, and handing it to the Doctor before he pulled out another one for himself, “Let’s go,” he added, pushing his button much to the Doctor’s protests, and sending them into the parallel universe.

 

**Pete’s Universe Twenty Minutes Later…**

 

As the Doctor finished his story, Jackie stopped stroking his hair, and finally stood, facing Mickey, “We’ve got to get back now, we’ve got to help Rose,” she told him, then she turned to Jake, “Will he be okay? Will the Doctor be okay?”

 

Jake looked down at the time lord, who was working to button up his bloodied oxford and suit jacket over the bandages they’d placed firmly over his wounds, and sighed, “We can only hope. None of us are exactly medical experts and we couldn’t even give him stitches. For all we know the internal damage could be much worse than we think.”

 

“It probably is,” the Doctor replied, crying out slightly as he stood, and faced them, “But this and a superior biology will buy me time, and that’s what we need, just a bit more time.”

 

The others nodded their assent, then the Doctor reached a hand into his pocket, and took out the dimension hopping button he’d been given just a little while earlier, “Jackie, I promise you, I will save your daughter, even if it’s the last thing I do.”

 

Jackie smiled grimly, “I know.”

 

It was then that Jake cleared his throat, and stepped forward, “Wait, there’s someone that needs to talk to you,” he told the Doctor, “About our other problem.”

 

“The Cybermen?”

 

“Not just that,” a familiar voice answered, causing the Doctor to turn around abruptly to face the man who had just walked into the room. A gasp from behind him had him tempted to turn back around, but upon realizing who he was now facing, he stood his ground. “Hello, Doctor,” Pete Tyler greeted him, “At least this time I know who you are… What the hell happened to him?”

 

“He was stabbed,” Mickey explained, “By the ganger I told you about. We failed, we couldn’t stop her, but we’ve managed to get him some bandages, we’ve bought him some time.”

 

“And that’s all we need,” Pete replied, looking the Doctor up and down, “I’m sorry about what’s happened to you.”

 

The Doctor shook his head, “I’ll be fine,” he lied, fairly certain that he wouldn’t be fine. His chances of making it out of this alive were growing slimmer by the minute unless he actually got help. His chances of receiving that were also growing slimmer as more and more problems were stacked on his plate. 

 

If these truly were to be his last moments, he knew exactly how he should be spending them, and he knew precisely who he wanted to spend them with. He wanted to see Rose now more than ever, finally see her for the first time in a month. He wanted to tell her he was sorry for not realizing he’d been with a fake. He wanted to tell her he was sorry for not finding her himself. More than anything he wanted to tell her how sorry he was for her not being the one he told his feelings to. 

 

“That’s…” Jackie breathed from behind him, interrupting his thoughts.

 

Pete’s attention was immediately captured by the voice, the others in the room watching in anticipation as he and Jackie stared at each other for a moment before he looked back at the Doctor, “We need to talk.”

 

The Doctor shifted impatiently on his feet, “Right, yes, good,” he replied, voice a little stronger than it had been before, “But I’ve got to get back right now, Rose is in danger.”

 

Pete shook his head, “No, you’re not in charge here. This is our world, not yours. And you’re going to listen for once.” 

 

The time lord hesitated, but slowly nodded, then Pete turned to leave, and gestured for him to follow. He followed behind the other man reluctantly, only turning back once to see if Mickey and Jackie would follow him. 

 

“Go on, boss,” Mickey said, “Jackie and I will go back ahead of you, see if we can find Rose.”

 

“Be careful.”

 

“We will,” Mickey promised him, then he and Jackie took out their dimension hoppers, and they were gone within a second.

 

With that, the Doctor followed Pete into another room to find the man staring out of the window at Parallel London. “Well?” he asked.

 

“When you left this world, you warned us there would be more Cybermen,” Pete began, “So we sealed them inside the factories.”

 

Another voice entered the conversation, “Except people argued,” Jake added, walking up beside them, “Said they were living. We should help them.”

 

“And the debate went on,” Pete continued, “But all that time, the Cybermen made plans. Infiltrated this version of Torchwood, mapped themselves onto your world, and vanished.”

 

Fighting back a groan, the Doctor asked, “When was this?”

 

“Three years ago.”

 

“It’s taken them three years to cross the void, but we can pop to and fro in a second. Must be the sheer mass of five million Cybermen crossing all at once.”

 

“Yeah, Mickey said you’d rattle off that sort of stuff,” Pete agreed, crossing his arms, “Speaking of, where is Mickey?”

 

“He went ahead, he and Jackie went back to find Rose,” Jake told him.

 

“Ah,” Pete replied, staring out the window, “Look at it. A world of peace. They’re calling it the Golden Age.”

 

“Who’s the President now?” the Doctor asked, leaning against the window as he looked out onto London.

 

“A woman called Harriet Jones.”

 

The Doctor winced, and this time it wasn’t because of his injuries, “Ooh, I’d keep an eye out on her,” he warned Pete. 

 

“But it’s a lie,” Pete explained, ignoring the Doctor’s words, “Temperatues have risen two degrees in the past six months. The ice caps are melting. They’re saying this is all going to be flooded. That’s not just global warming, is it?”

 

“No.”

 

“It’s the breach.”

 

The Doctor sighed, “I’ve been trying to tell you. Travel between parallel worlds is impossible. Then the Daleks break down the walls with the sphere.”

 

“Daleks?”

 

“Then the Cybermen travelled across, then you lot. Those discs. Every time you jump from one reality to another, you rip a hole in the universe. This planet is starting to boil. Keep going and both worlds will fall into the Void.”

 

“But you can stop it?” Pete asked, “You can seal the breach?”

 

“Leaving five million Cybermen stranded on my Earth,” the Doctor replied, “Not that I’ll be around to see it.”

 

“I’m sorry for what’s happened, Doctor, but your universe is your problem, I’m protecting this universe, and this universe only.”

 

The Doctor scoffed lightly, “Pete Tyler, I knew you when you were dead. Now here you are, fighting the fight alone. You know, Jackie Tyler’s still alive back on my Earth. You just saw her.”

 

“My wife died,” Pete reminded him solemnly. 

 

“Her husband died. Good match.”

 

“There’s more important things at stake, Doctor, help us.”

 

“What, close the breach? Stop the Cybermen? Defeat the Daleks? Do you believe I can do that?”

 

“Yes.”

 

“Even though in all likelihood this is the last day I’ll ever live?”

 

“Yes,” Pete and Jake repeated in unison.

 

The Doctor beamed as much as he was capable of, then he looked down at the yellow button he still carried in his hand, “Then what are we waiting for?” he asked, “But first things first, I’m getting Rose out of there.”

 

“I won’t argue,” Pete promised him, then the three men looked at each other, nodding firmly before each of them pressed their buttons, and headed back into the other universe. 

 

For the Doctor, he was finally heading back to Rose Tyler. For the first time in a month, they would be reunited. After all that time, they could finally resume their life together. Even better he’d be able to tell her exactly how he felt about her, and if he was brave enough, maybe he’d say those three little words.

  
  



	30. Doomsday: Reunited

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Today's gonna be a bit of a double update since I felt bad for making everyone wait three weeks between chapters for a while. I just overcame huge writer's block. The next two chapters after today's double update will probably be posted tomorrow or a few days from now as well since those were written a while ago before I got writer's block. Anyway, here's a chapter I've been looking forward to for ages.

Rose was growing more and more fearful by the minute, but she didn’t dare let that show on her face as she waited with the Daleks in the laboratory. All she could do was hope that Jackie and Mickey found the Doctor, and that the Doctor found her. She chewed nervously on the inside of her lip as she watched the Daleks press their plunger-like arm against the Genesis Ark, saying nothing in the hopes they’d forget she existed at least for a little while. 

 

But the Daleks also said nothing of the Genesis Ark in what she estimated to be a good half an hour, and she was still stuck leaning against a wall. She’d been watching the entire time as they spoke of stages of awakening, but the Ark never opened, leaving Rose to wonder just what the hell they meant by “awakening.” Curiosity overran her desire for safety, and remembering the reason she’d stayed behind in the first place, she asked, “Why can’t you open it?”

 

“THE TECHNOLOGY IS STOLEN,” the black Dalek explained, “THE ARK IS NOT OF DALEK DESIGN.”

 

“Then who built it?” she asked. 

 

“THE TIME LORDS. THIS IS ALL THAT SURVIVES OF THEIR HOME WORLD.”

 

Evidently, the Daleks didn’t realize the Tardis existed. “What’s inside?”

 

“THE FUTURE,” the Dalek replied, then it turned back to the others, and they continued working to open the Ark.

 

Rose stepped back, wondering just what the hell the Daleks had meant when they weren’t able to open it. After a moment, though, it came to her. She remembered the first time she’d ever encountered a Dalek, when she’d brought it back to life just by touching it. Perhaps that was why the Daleks couldn’t open it. They couldn’t touch it, and they needed the touch of a time traveler to complete their evil plan. 

 

Swallowing nervously, Rose stepped further away from the Daleks and stepped closer to the door. If she was lucky, perhaps Rajesh hadn’t actually quarantined them, and the doors were simply shut. If she was very lucky, she’d escape within minutes. 

 

She wasn’t very lucky, for in that moment, the Daleks began to move away from the Ark, “FINAL STAGE OF AWAKENING,” one of them announced.

 

The black one immediately turned to face her, “YOUR HAND PRINT WILL OPEN THE ARK,” it commanded her, confirming her suspicions on what they wanted her to do. 

 

She scoffed, “Well, tough, cause I’m not doing it,” she retorted, not remotely willing to give the Dalek the satisfaction of seeing its plan through. 

 

“OBEY OR YOU WILL DIE,” the Dalek warned her, sending chills down her spine. 

 

Torn between resisting and keeping her life, she hesitated. It didn’t take her long to realize, however, that the Daleks would likely make an attempt on her life regardless. She had to do it, but she would stall as long as she could. For all she knew, the Doctor, her mum, and Mickey were on their way to help her right that minute. With a sigh, she strode calmly up to the Daleks, stopping just before she reached the Ark, and she almost smiled, “You’re gonna kill me anyway, so what the hell?” she asked, “If you escaped the time war, don’t you want to know what happened?”

  
“PLACE YOUR HAND-”

 

“What happened to the emperor?” she finished, raising an eyebrow in anticipation, knowing by the hesitation the Dalek gave after she asked her question that she’d certainly bought herself a minute. 

 

“THE EMPEROR SURVIVED?”

 

“Until he met me. Cause if these are going to be my last words, then you’re gonna listen. I met the Emperor, and I took the Time Vortex and I pulled it into his head and turned him into dust. Do you get that? The God of all Daleks, and I destroyed him. Ha!”

 

“YOU WILL BE EXTERMINATED!” the Dalek cried, then it raised its weapon at Rose, masking a very important, and very relieving sound. The sound of the door opening and closing behind Rose. 

 

But it didn’t mask the next important sound, the sound of a voice Rose hadn’t heard in person in a month. A voice that made her heart race twice as fast as was considered healthy. “Oh, now, hold on, wait a minute,” the Doctor’s voice said, causing Rose to whip around faster than she ever had in her life. 

 

For a moment, she’d feared she was dreaming, she feared that she was about to wake up and realize that she was still in Demon’s Run, and the ganger was still pulling the strings. But no, he was there, he was live and in the flesh. He even had his trench coat on, just this once it was closed, and a stupid smile on his face. He was a tad paler than he usually was, but this fact slipped Rose’s mind over the fact that he was actually  _ there. _ After a month, after so long since she’d been taken by Madame Kovarian’s men, she was finally back in the same room as him. After so long apart, the twenty yard distance between them was nothing. 

 

“Doctor,” she breathed, not able to hide the smile that grew wide on her face as he walked into the room, seemingly unharmed. Perhaps she had actually succeeded, she and Mickey had successfully stopped the ganger’s attack, and as soon as their business with the Daleks and the Cybermen was over, they’d be able to resume their normal life. 

 

The time lord beamed at the sound of his name, “Hello, Rose,” he said in the same tone she’d said his name, “Long time no see.”

 

She laughed lightly, “That’s one way to put it, yeah,” she replied, stepping closer to him before suddenly one of the Daleks spoke up, reminding her that they were still there. 

 

“ALERT, ALERT, YOU ARE THE DOCTOR,” the black Dalek screamed. 

 

“SENSORS REPORT HE IS UNARMED,” another added. 

 

“That’s me, always,” the Doctor told them, “Now if you lot don’t mind, I haven’t seen Rose Tyler in a month, and we’ve got a hell of a lot of catching up to do,” he added, eyes drifting back to Rose as he slowly closed the remaining distance between them. As he drew closer to her, his arms opened slightly, and when he finally reached his companion, he wrapped his arms around her, holding on as if he could never let go. 

 

Rose didn’t hesitate to return the embrace, not caring that she was surrounded by Daleks, that they could die at any moment if the Daleks decided they no longer needed her. All she cared about was the Doctor’s arms around her, the way he was holding her, “I was so scared I’d never see you again,” she whispered, her voice so soft she was certain that even with the Daleks’ sensors they wouldn’t have heard it. 

 

“I’m right here,” he whispered back, “I’m not going anywhere, and neither are you.”

 

“I like that plan.”

 

The two chuckled lightly as they continued to embrace for another moment, relishing in what would become their last truly peaceful moment of the entire day. It was almost surreal that after all they’d been through, they were still back in each other’s arms. Rose was confident now more than ever that nothing could ever split them apart, absolutely nothing. 

 

The serene moment was interrupted not a moment later by the Daleks, “SOCIAL INTERACTION WILL CEASE!” one of the Daleks cried, causing the Doctor and Rose to step away from each other with hints of smiles still plastered on their faces. 

 

“HOW DID YOU SURVIVE THE TIME WAR?” the black Dalek asked. 

 

“By fighting on the front line,” the Doctor told them, the hint of despair on his features not missed by Rose as she stood by his side, “I was there at the fall of Arcadia. Someday I might even come to terms with that. But you lot ran away!”

 

“WE HAD TO SURVIVE,” the Dalek replied.

 

“The last four Daleks in existence,” the Doctor observed, “So, what’s so special about you?”

 

Rose cleared her throat, “Doctor, they’ve got names,” she told him, “I mean, Daleks don’t have names, do they? One of them said Thay.”

 

“I AM DALEK THAY,” one of the Daleks announced.

 

“DALEK SEK,” the black Dalek said.

 

“DALEK JAAST.”

 

“DALEK CAAN.”

 

The Doctor stepped back, “So that’s it! At last, the Cult of Skaro. I thought you were just a legend.”

 

“Who are they?” Rose asked curiously, slipping her hand into his as she stood even closer to him, not willing to let him be any father from her than she had to after their time apart. The only thing she found odd about it, was that this time as they stood together, the Doctor was leaning on her much more heavily than he usually did. She wasn’t sure what to make of it, but something about the way he stood was off. It was as if he needed her for support… 

 

“A secret order beyond the emperor himself,” the Doctor explained, interrupting Rose’s thoughts before they could spiral into the worst, “Their job was to imagine, to think the way the enemy thinks. To find new ways of killing.”

 

“What about that thing there? The Genesis Ark,” she asked, looking up at him in concern, noticing for the first time just how pale he was, the hint of sweat that was appearing on his brow. For the first time, his closed trench coat bothered her. It was all so… off… Something about him wasn’t right, but she wasn’t sure what was going on. 

 

There was a subtle, but definitely audible grunt emitted from his lips as he looked up at it, “I don’t know, I’ve never seen it before.”

 

“They said it was time lord,” Rose said, tempted to ask him if he was all right, but not wanting to ask it in front of the Daleks. Sure, the foul creatures may have always been afraid of the Doctor, but she didn’t need them to know there was something wrong with him. 

 

The Doctor shrugged, then he winced, “Both sides had secrets,” he replied, his voice sounding almost pained, “What is it? What have you done?”

 

“TIME LORD SCIENCE WILL RESTORE DALEK SUPREMACY,” Dalek Sek told them. 

 

“What does that mean? What sort of time lord science?” the Doctor asked, concern evident on his face as much as it was evident on Rose’s, though her concern was for a different cause. 

 

“They implied a touch from a time traveler would wake it up,” she said, beginning to fear the worst from the Doctor’s appearance as time went on. 

 

A subtle grin appeared on the Doctor’s face, “Technology using the one thing a Dalek can’t do, touch. Sealed inside your casing. Not feeling anything ever, from birth to death, locked inside a cold metal cage. Completely alone. That explains your voice. No wonder you scream,” he told the Daleks, clenching his jaw shut suddenly once he finished speaking. 

 

“THE DOCTOR WILL OPEN THE ARK!” Dalek Sek cried. 

 

Composing himself, the time lord retorted, “The Doctor will  _ not. _ ”

 

“YOU HAVE NO WAY OF RESISTING!”

 

“Well, you have got me there,” the Doctor replied, reaching into the pocket of his trench coat with the hand that wasn’t holding Rose’s, “But there’s always this,” he added, holding up the sonic screwdriver, causing his companion to beam with pride. 

 

“IT IS HARMLESS.”

 

“Oh, yes, harmless is just the word. That's why I like it. Doesn't kill, doesn't wound, doesn't maim. But I'll tell you what it does do. It is very good at opening doors.” 

 

With that, the Doctor pointed the sonic at the door. The moment it opened a blonde man and a Cyberman entered, blasting their weaponry at the Daleks, forcing the Doctor and Rose to duck to avoid the gunfire. The former of the two cried out as he bent over, causing Rose to call out in concern. 

 

“Rose, get out of here!” he shouted back, and for a split second, she considered it, but then she saw the way his hand gripped his chest, then she noticed the red staining his fingers… then she put two and two together at the worst possible moment. 

 

Everything suddenly went by in a blur as Rose realized what had happened to him. Why he had his trench coat closed. Why he had let out pained noises. Why he’d cried out, fingers stained red with what she knew was his own blood. Cybermen cried out, “DELETE,” over and over again. Daleks shouted that their casing was impaired. The Doctor shouted for Rose to run, but she couldn’t move. 

 

She’d failed him. She hadn’t stopped the ganger. He was injured, and possibly dying, she couldn’t quite gauge how bad it was. All she knew was it was bad enough that he needed his trench coat to hide it. Whatever had happened to him was beyond comprehension at the moment. She didn’t want to think about the specifics. She  _ couldn’t _ think about the specifics, not when she’d just realized she’d failed in saving him. Regret coursed through her veins, and tears sprung to her eyes as reality set in that he was very likely dying, and it was her fault. She’d failed to save him. 

 

“Rose!” the Doctor cried out again, but she couldn’t hear him as she stumbled back, her hand falling from his as she stepped back, falling to the floor, and reaching out to catch herself. Her hand didn’t land on the floor, however, it landed on something hard, metal, and hot. It was the Genesis Ark. The other thing she had desperately wanted to avoid had happened. She could only wonder how it could get worse from there.

 

She pulled her hand away with a sharp gasp, and pushed herself off of the floor, running to the Doctor, and reuniting her hand with his as the two of them ran out of the room with the mysterious, blonde stranger in tow. 

 

The time lord was panting as he raised the sonic again, and closed the doors behind them, “Jake, check the stairwell,” he told the blonde behind them, who immediately peeled off from their trio, and headed for the stairwell further down the corridor, “Rose, let’s go!”

 

Rose didn’t hesitate, forcing her thoughts about what was happening to him down as the two ran, though the Doctor remained in a slightly hunched over position as they went, confirming her suspicions of what had happened to him further. “I’m sorry I touched the ark!” she shouted to him, “I just fell, I was in shock.”

 

“They would’ve opened it by force anyway, you’ve done us a favor,” he replied, rounding a corner and bringing them to a halt as they waited for Jake to confirm that the stairwell was clear. After a moment of catching their breath, he let go of her hand, and took her face in his own hands before pressing the most gentle of kisses to her forehead, and leaning his against hers, “I’m sorry I didn’t see this sooner. I’m sorry I didn’t notice you were her, I’m sorry, I’m so sorry, Rose.”

 

She shook her head, “I don’t care,” she replied, feeling her heart race at how close they were, it was closer than they usually allowed themselves to get, but given what he’d told the ganger- what he’d meant for  _ her _ , she wasn’t surprised, “I’m just glad you’re here, now, but…”

 

“What?”

 

“I know something happened to you,” she said, feeling a lump make its way into her throat, “Tell me, please, Doctor. I need to know for sure that I failed in saving you.”

 

The Doctor closed his eyes, then he took a step back, but his eyes never left hers as he undid the buttons on his long coat, and opened it. She gasped, leaning back against the wall as her hand clapped over her mouth, and a sob slipped out. On the Doctor’s chest was an alarmingly large blood stain, a stain which covered a majority of his abdominal region, and three tears in the fabric over the most densely stained pinstripes. “No,” she breathed, anxiously running a hand through her hair, “No, no, no, no, no…”

 

The Doctor said nothing as he stepped forward, wrapping his arms around her as she sobbed into his chest, “I couldn’t stop her… I… I’m sorry, Doctor,” she cried, “I’m… No…”

 

“It’s not your fault, it’s mine,” he told her, pulling her closer against him, “I should’ve realized she wasn’t you. There were times when I thought… But I thought I was just being ridiculous, and then she’d say what you would’ve said, and well… I’m thick.”

 

Rose pulled away from him, wiping her eyes as she attempted to calm herself down, thankful that the sobs stopped within a few seconds, and she was able to look him in the eyes as she spoke, “Where is she now?”

 

The Doctor shook his head, “I’ve got no idea, the Cybermen took her last I saw her, I can only hope she escaped,” he told her, then upon seeing her confused expression, he added, “When she… stabbed me she suddenly changed, she reverted back to her original settings. Once she’d completed her mission, the murderous side of her was gone. She’s… More like you now.”

 

It didn’t make Rose feel much less anger toward the ganger, but she understood as she gave the time lord a nod, “How’d you find me?” 

 

“She told me where you were. She figured out you were Sarah,” he replied, “She led me back to you… Rose, if we get out of this…”

 

“Yeah?”

 

“If we get out of this, and mind you, that’s a very strong if,” he assured her, laughing nervously, “I-” 

 

Before he could continue, the stairwell door down the hall burst open, and not a moment later Jake appeared before them with a smile on his face, “Stairwell’s clear,” he told them, then he gestured for them to follow behind, when suddenly a voice called out to them from the other end of the corridor the Doctor and Rose were in. 

 

“Doctor, thank god!” Mickey’s voice called out, then the other three turned to see Jackie, Mickey, and the ganger running toward them, each one’s cheeks were flushed red, and sweat lined their faces as they approached them, “You’re still alive.”

 

“Mickey, what happened?” Rose asked, observing how out of breath her friend was. She was suddenly feeling much the same seeing her ganger standing a few feet from her, “And what’s she doing here?”

 

“We went to warn Jake and the others about the Daleks,” Mickey began, “But then we found him, and he was… He’d been attacked by her,” he cocked his head in the direction of the ganger, who stood a few feet behind him staring blankly at the ground, “So we bandaged him up, and Jackie and I headed back here to look for you, but we landed at the top of the tower. We couldn’t get to the lifts, so we took the stairs on the other side of the tower.”

 

“We ran into her on the way down,” Jackie continued, “Didn’t know she’d had a change of heart, but she begged us to listen, so we did… Figured I couldn’t just leave her.”

 

“What happened to you, boss?” 

 

The Doctor shrugged, “Well, we left for your universe, and I still had the, er… stain to contend with, and I didn’t want Rose or the Daleks to see it, so we popped back into the warehouse I parked the Tardis in, I grabbed my coat, and went to find Rose,” he told them, smiling at his companion.

 

“I’m glad we’re all together, but we need to figure out what the Daleks are doing with the Genesis Ark,” Rose said, looking back down the corridor they’d come from in an attempt to keep herself from looking at the ganger. She wasn’t sure what she’d do now that they were face to face. It felt wrong, like looking in a mirror with no glass.

 

“Rose is right,” the Doctor replied, “We’ve got to get back to the warehouse. I’ve got a plan to stop all this, and you’re going to have to trust me.”

 

The group looked amongst themselves, then each slowly gave him a nod, “Absolutely,” Rose replied first, slipping her hand back into his, and holding it tightly. 

 

“Count me in,” Mickey added, a subtle smile evident on his features as he crossed his arms. 

 

“Good,” the Doctor said, turning toward Jake, “We’d best be going back down your way, then.”

 

With that, the group headed down the corridor toward the warehouse, past the laboratory -which Rose observed now had a door open, and lacked Daleks or a Genesis Ark- and they were getting close when suddenly a Cyberman appeared around the corner, screaming, “DELETE,” at them as it approached with its weapon arm raised. They quickly turned around, and headed back down the way they came, only to find another Cyberman coming at them from that direction as well. They were trapped. 

 

“What the hell do we do?” Jackie asked, looking between the two menacing Cybermen. 

 

She didn’t have to wait long for an answer. A second later, a familiar voice screamed, “Duck!” and with the command repeated by the Doctor, the group ducked as a loud, unknown weapon went off twice, killing each Cyberman the instant it made contact with them. 

 

Rose could hear the Doctor groaning under his breath as they all stood up straight again, and instantly she took the hand holding his, and wrapped that arm around his back, supporting him as he stood. He looked as though he were about to protest, but he stopped upon seeing whoever had just saved their lives. 

 

The blonde followed his gaze, only to gasp in shock the moment her eyes landed on her father holding a rather large gun of sorts, or at least, the parallel version of him was doing so if the ganger’s memories had been anything to go by. The shock barely phased her after what she’d already seen that day. Seeing her dead father was possibly about as normal as she would get. Still, the sight of him standing before her without her having to travel through time was odd. “What the hell…?” she asked, though her question was masked by her mother’s.

 

“Pete?” Jackie asked softly, “What the hell are you doing here?”

 

“Hello, Jacks,” the parallel Pete said kindly, setting down the gun. 

 

“Oh, so you’ll actually talk to me now?”

 

“I’m sorry… When I saw you earlier… I was… shocked… See, for me, you died three years ago.”

 

“For me it was twenty,” Jackie all but whispered, the others falling silent as she took in the sight of him, “Oh, you look old.”

 

“You don’t.”

 

“I saw you earlier, but… How can you be standing there?”

 

“I just got lucky, lived my life… You were left on your own,” he observed, “You never married, or…?”

 

Jackie shook her head, “There was never anyone else,” she confessed, “Twenty years, though. Look at me. I never left that flat. Did nothing with myself.”

 

“I hear you brought up Rose,” he replied, gesturing to the woman who was his daughter in this universe, “I’ve only met the copy, but Mickey told me about the real Rose Tyler. Speaking of, what the hell is she doing here?” 

 

“She had a change of heart,” the Doctor said simply, “We don’t have to worry about her anymore.”

 

“Yeah,” Jackie replied, “But what happened to you, Pete?”

 

“In my world it worked, all those daft little plans of mine? They worked, made me rich.”

 

“I don’t care about that,” Jackie said, then she hesitated, “How rich?”

 

“Very.”

 

“I don’t care about that… How very?”

 

Pete sighed, “Thing is though, Jacks, you’re not my wife… I’m sorry, you’re just not. I mean, we both. You know, it's just sort of. Oh, come here,” he said, opening his arms in an embrace that Jackie gladly ran into, letting him lift her off the ground as they came together, causing an involuntary smile to grow on Rose’s face. At the very least, if the Doctor didn’t walk out of this alive, her mother got her happy ending. 

 

The two embraced for a moment, then the Doctor cleared his throat, “I’m sorry to interrupt, but we’re running out of time,” he told them, gesturing to the wounds he’d received earlier, “We’ve got to get to the warehouse, I need the magnaclamps to do what I need to do.”

 

“Those things Yvonne showed us earlier?” the ganger asked, her voice shocking the other six people in the room as she finally spoke up. 

 

“Yeah, those,” the Doctor replied after a moment, “I’ll explain when we have them, but until then, we’ve got to go.”

 

“Let’s go, then,” Rose said, looking him up and down, “Are you okay to run?”

 

“No, but I haven’t got time to waste,” the time lord told her, then with Rose supporting him, he led them down the corridor toward the warehouse, stepping over the body of one of the Cybermen as they went. 


	31. Doomsday: Firsts and Lasts

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I want to apologize in advance for the ending of this chapter.

The seven ran down the corridor until they reached the warehouse doors, which had been blown open by some unknown force. They quickly deduced this to be the Daleks upon spotting the wicked foursome wreaking havoc on the soldiers and the Cybermen who were already fighting. The battle was already intense, the soldiers losing quickly to the Cybermen, but the addition of the Daleks against them both made things even more hectic as the group of six humans and one flesh ganger watched in horror.

 

“There’s the magnaclamps,” the Doctor said, pointing to a crate positioned just beyond the warehouse door, the magnaclamps sitting casually at its base as if nothing had happened that day, “I need to get to them, but there’s too much gunfire and I can’t dodge it when I’m this injured.”

 

“Maybe I can help you there,” the ganger announced, placing her hands on her hips as their entire crew turned to face her, “It’s the least I could do.”

 

“No, no, I can’t put you at risk,” the time lord protested.

 

“I can put myself at risk. What do you think’s gonna happen to me now that I’ve completed my mission? They won’t keep me around. I’ll be melted down, and if you survive this… I’ll be killed, probably horrifically… They’ve put a vortex manipulator chip in my head, they can take me any time. I’d be willing to risk my life to avoid that fate.”

 

The Doctor looked at her hesitantly, but gave her a slow nod as the others parted to give her access to the warehouse. She stared out at it nervously before she ran out, successfully dodging all the lasers and gunfire being fired throughout the room as she hid behind the crate with the magnaclamps. A grin appeared on her face as she grabbed both of them, dodging the gunfire once again as she sped back, and reunited with the group.

 

“There’s only two,” the ganger told him, but the Doctor didn’t seem to hear her as he watched the Daleks and the Genesis Ark before them.

 

“OVERRIDE ROOF MECHANISM!” Dalek Sek cried, then the roof to the warehouse opened up, and light from the sky above filtered in as the terrible four and their Genesis Ark rose high into the sky.

 

“What the hell are they doing?” Rose asked, “Why do they need to get outside?”

 

“Time lord science. What time lord science? What is it?” the Doctor wondered as they walked back into the corridor, “We’ve got to see what it’s doing. We’ve got to go back up! All of you! Top floor!”

 

Jackie groaned as she followed behind him and Rose, “That’s forty five floors up! Believe me, we’ve done them all!”

 

“We could always take the lifts,” Jake’s voice piped up, and the six of them looked down the hallway a little ways to find their blonde friend beaming at them from the open doors of one of the Torchwood lifts.

 

“Jake, I could kiss you,” the Doctor breathed as they piled into the elevator, causing Rose to lift a curious eyebrow beside him, “I just might later, if we survive this.”

 

A few minutes later they emerged at the top of Torchwood tower to find the lever room and the surrounding area were completely deserted. Either everyone there had left, been killed, or been converted into a Cyberman. Rose shuddered at the thought as she supported the Doctor on the walk out of the lift.

 

“We’ve got to get to the window,” he told the group, allowing his companion to lead him back into Yvonne’s office.

 

From there they were able to get a clear view of the Daleks and the Genesis Ark, though they were more focused on the latter as it suddenly opened up, revealing a single Dalek. If only it had remained a single Dalek. The situation went from bad to worse as the Ark began to spin around, shooting out Daleks in all directions.

 

“Time lord science,” the Doctor breathed, “It’s bigger on the inside.”

 

“Did the time lords put those Daleks in there?” Mickey asked from behind them, “What for?”

 

The Doctor let go of Rose, and turned around, a groan of pain leaving his lips as he leaned heavily against the desk, “It’s a prison ship.”

 

Rose’s hand instantly found his, “Doctor,” she said, eyes flicking down to the stain on his pinstriped jacket, “Are you gonna be all right?”

 

He nodded, “I’ll be fine, I’m the least of our issues right now,” he told her, running a thumb over the back of her hand, “There’s millions of Daleks in that ship. That’s the bigger problem.”

 

The Doctor took out a pair of 3D glasses from his pocket, putting them on once again as he watched the Daleks leave the Ark. Rose watched him curiously, but before she could ask him what the hell he was doing with the glasses, Pete interrupted, “I'm sorry, but you've had it. This world's going to crash and burn. There's nothing we can do. We're going home,” he said, taking one of the yellow dimension hoppers out of his pocket, and handing it to Jackie, “Jacks, take this, you’re coming with us.”

 

“But they’re destroying the city,” Jackie protested.

 

“I’d forgotten you could argue,” Pete replied, a hint of affection in the distressed tone of his voice, “It’s not just London, it’s the whole world. But there's another world just waiting for you, Jacks. And it's safe as long as the Doctor closes the breach. Doctor?”

 

Not a moment after Pete said that, the Doctor turned to face him, grinning at Rose’s father through his odd glasses, “Oh, I’m ready,” he replied, “Rose, I’m gonna need your help, but I’ve got the equipment right here,” he gestured to the magnaclamps the ganger was still holding on to, and leaning on Rose once again to walk up to one of the abandoned computers in the lever room, entering a series of commands into the system before he spoke again, “Slam it down and close off both universes.”

 

“REBOOT SYSTEMS,” the computer announced.

 

“But we can’t just leave,” the ganger protested, “What about the Daleks? The Cybermen? They’ll kill everyone out there.”  


“Like you care,” Jackie retorted.

 

“I do care, actually. You know what I’ve been feeling this whole time? Ever since I…” she spared a glance at the Doctor, “I’ve felt nothing but remorse for what I’ve done. I feel horrible that I did this, I can’t find the words to tell you what’s going through my head right now, but I can tell you this. Right now I’m a new person. The woman who did that… She’s gone.”

 

The others sat in silence for a moment, processing what the Doctor’s would-be killer had just told them. It felt like forever at the roof of the tower before the time lord himself interrupted the silence with, “She’s right, they’re part of the problem… and that makes them part of the solution. Is anyone going to ask what’s with the glasses?”

 

Rose giggled for the first time since she’d discovered his potentially mortal wound, “What’s with the glasses?”

 

The Doctor seemed to push down another pained cry, making Rose wonder just how long he had to get help before he spoke, “I can see! That’s what!” he cried with an enthusiasm that was very obviously false, “Because we've got two separate worlds, but in between the two separate worlds, we've got the Void. That's where the Daleks were hiding. And the Cybermen travelled through the Void to get here. And you lot, one world to another, via the Void. Oh, I like that. Via the Void. Look.”

 

With his piece said, he handed the glasses to Rose, who looked at him worriedly, but put them on, blinking in confusion at what she saw when she looked at the man standing beside her. He was surrounded by what must’ve been thousands of tiny green dots, all floating around him, and moving with him as he moved limitedly.

 

“I’ve been through it. Do you see?”

 

“REBOOT IN THREE MINUTES,” announced the computer.

 

“What is it?” Rose asked.

 

“Void stuff.”

 

“Like background radiation?”

 

The Doctor gave her a nod, then pointed at the others, “Look at them,” he told her, and upon turning her gaze on the other people in the room, she noticed that all of them except for her were covered in the same weird particles the Doctor was covered in, “And you’re the only one who hasn’t been through it. The Daleks lived inside the void. They’re bristling with it. The Cybermen, too. I just open the Void and reverse. The void stuff gets sucked back inside, pulling them all in.”

 

As soon as he finished speaking, he cried out in pain, reaching up a hand to clutch at one of the stab wounds he’d received. When he pulled his hand away, it was stained red. He’d started to bleed through the bandages. He was running out of time.

 

“Are you all right, Doctor?” Mickey asked, stepping toward the time lord in concern.

 

“I’m fine.”

 

Not looking like he believed it, Mickey sighed, “So what the hell’s the void, anyway?”

 

“The dead space,” the Doctor explained, wiping off the red on his hand on the bottom of his jacket, “Some people call it hell.”

 

Mickey laughed, “So you’re sending the Daleks and the Cybermen to hell,” he turned to Jake, “I told you he was good.”

 

“But it’s like you said, Doctor, they’ve all got void stuff, cause they’ve all gone to that parallel world,” Rose began, “They’ll get pulled in.”

 

The Doctor looked at her solemnly for a moment, his eyes staring deeply into hers, all the pain he was feeling visible in the gaze. She gulped nervously as they simply looked at each other for a moment, having a conversation without speaking any words. “Rose, if things had gone differently today, I wouldn’t ask you this,” he told her, “But they’re going to the other universe, Pete’s World, we’ll call it. They’re going to be safe on the other side, and if you want to go with them, I won’t stop you.”

 

“What?”

 

“I’m opening the void, but only on this side, you’ll all be safe on that side.”

 

“But you’ll get pulled in,” Mickey protested.

 

The Doctor shook his head, and motioned for the ganger to step forward, bringing the magnaclamps with her, “I won’t, ‘cause I’ll have these. I’ll just have to hold on tight, been doing that all my life.”

 

Rose raised an eyebrow, “Doctor, you can barely stand. How the hell are you going to resist that pull? How are you gonna hold on?”

 

For a moment, the Doctor was quiet, then he swallowed, “Rose, my chances of making it out of this alive are slim as it is. I… I haven’t started regenerating yet…”

 

Rose stepped back, her mouth falling open slightly as if to speak, but no words left her lips. All she could do was stare at him until suddenly an idea came to her, “I haven’t been through the void,” she said, coming back toward him, and reaching a hand up to caress his cheek, “If I sat beside you, and helped you hold on, you might stand a chance. _We_ might stand a chance. You were telling me down there in the basement… if we make it out of this…”

 

It was so quiet for a split second she swore she could hear their hearts beating as her words hung in the air. Even the sound of the Daleks causing chaos outside was deafened by the silence between not just the Doctor and Rose, but all of the other people in the room. None of them, not even Rose herself could believe what she’d just proposed.

 

The only thing that interrupted the silence was the shaking of the building, no doubt caused by the ongoing battle that surrounded them. Immediately, Pete sprung into action, ushering the group of people that would be going to his universe together, “We haven’t got time to argue, the plan works. We’re going. All of us.”

 

“I’m not going without Rose,” Jackie said firmly, though there was the slightest tremor in her voice.

 

“Oh my god, we’re going!”

 

“I’ve had twenty years without you, so button it, I’m not leaving her.”

 

Rose stepped away from the Doctor, and walked toward her mother, “Mum, you’ve got to,” she told Jackie, “I can’t leave him to die. At least I know you’ll live, but him… I can’t spend my life just wondering…”

 

“Well, that’s tough,” Jackie muttered bitterly, then her eyes widened, and she clasped a hand over her mouth, “I didn’t mean that.”

 

Her daughter placed a hand on her arm, “Mum,” she said, ignoring the computer’s warning that the reboot would occur in one minute, “I've had a life with you for nineteen years, but then I met the Doctor, and all the things I've seen him do for me, for you, for all of us. For the whole stupid planet and every planet out there. He does it alone, mum. But not anymore, because now he's got me. And I almost lost him today, I can’t do it again, I can’t. So please go, live your life. I’ll think of you every day, but this is my choice to make, and I choose to stay.”

 

Jackie simply stared at her daughter awestruck, and after a moment, she reached into her pocket, and took out her own yellow dimension hopper. She then wrapped her arms around her daughter, holding her tightly like it was the last time they’d ever see each other, and it would be for a long time. “I love you,” she whispered into Rose’s ear.

  
“I love you, too, mum,” Rose replied before pulling away, “And thank you… Now, go, we haven’t got much time.”

 

Jackie nodded, then she looked at Pete, “All right, I’m ready,” she told him, “Let’s go.”

 

“Wait!” Rose cried suddenly, turning around to face Mickey before throwing her arms around him too. Their embrace was short, a mere few seconds in comparison to all the others that had come before it, but they were running out of time.

 

Not even a second after it ended, they all pressed their buttons, and disappeared into Pete’s Universe. All except for one, the ganger.

 

She alone stayed behind, staring at the Doctor and Rose as she placed the magnaclamps on a nearby desk, “Couldn’t help but notice there were two of them,” she told them, “Sounded like you needed help.”

 

The Doctor hesitated, “You should join them. It’s like you said, they’ll be taking you any time. Especially if you fail.”

 

“Doctor, after what I did… I need to make it up to you somehow, and this is how I’m gonna start. So what can I do to help?”

 

“SYSTEMS REBOOTED,” the computer announced, “OPEN ACCESS.”

 

The Doctor looked at the real Rose, then at the ganger, nodding slowly as he pointed at another computer on the other side of the room, “Those coordinates over there, set them all to six,” he told her, “And hurry- GAH!”

 

Rose was immediately back at his side, supporting him as he tried to stand, but eventually, it became clear to her he was better off at least sitting. She pulled the desk chair in front of them toward him, and gently helped him sit down in it, “Now I need you to tell _me_ what to do.”

 

Before he could, the ganger shouted at them, “We’ve got Cybermen on the way up!”

 

The true Rose looked down at the Doctor, observing his worsening state with a growing fear that he wouldn’t make it out of this. He hadn’t started regenerating yet, and she was positive it hadn’t taken this long the last time he’d done it. He’d told her she’d only been unconscious for half an hour after what she’d done to the Daleks, a story he’d only told her after much begging. Even then she suspected he’d left out some important details. “Doctor, I’m gonna go help her,” she told him, “So don’t die on me.”

 

“No promises,” he replied weakly, the statement followed quickly by a groan.

 

Rose leaned down and pressed a kiss to his forehead before she ran across to the ganger, the two exchanging a brief awkward stare before she spoke. Though she’d seen the ganger before, the sight of them working together rather than against each other felt odd considering the first time they’d met was when she’d seen the ganger putting on her shirt. “How many floors down?”

 

“Just one,” the ganger replied, pointing to the screen, which confirmed that there were indeed Cybermen only one floor down from where they stood. The ganger’s words would’ve struck fear in Rose’s heart, but not a moment later the threat disappeared from their screen rather suddenly.

 

“LEVERS OPERATIONAL,” the computer said, bringing a smile to the real Rose’s face.

 

She turned back to the Doctor, and picked up a magnaclamp, handing it to the ganger before she picked up the other, “So, how do we use these?”

 

“Put it against the wall, and press the red button. Then once it starts, just hold on tight. Shouldn’t be too bad for any of us, but the Daleks and Cybermen are seeped in void stuff.”

 

Rose nodded, then she and the ganger set to work on putting the magnaclamps in place. The ganger set hers at about chest height, but there would be no way she could help hold the Doctor in place at that height. She suspected it wouldn’t do his injuries any good to do that either, so she set theirs closer to the ground. It was close enough that he’d be able to grip it just by lying down.

 

As soon as the magnaclamps were in place, the ganger stood by her lever, and Rose went back for the Doctor. She looked at him cautiously as she held out her hands, and he reached up and took them with a quiet grunt. She wrapped an arm tightly around his waist as she led him to the magnaclamp, then she gently laid him down beside it.

 

"Wait, Rose," the ganger said, stealing the blonde's attention for a moment as she reached into the pocket of her jacket, and pulled out the Tardis key she'd been the keeper of for the past month, "Figure I'd better return this. Just in case."

 

Rose hesitated, but she reached a hand out for the key, smiling gratefully as it was placed in her palm. Oh, how she'd missed that damned key. The smile remained on her face as she placed it in her pocket, and the ganger returned to her clamp.

 

She then turned her attention to the Doctor, who was looking worse by the minute, “Is this gonna be okay?” she asked, brushing a stray hair off of his forehead.

 

He nodded, “Yeah, it’ll be fine,” he replied, breathing hard, “Let’s just survive this first before we worry about that other stuff, hmm?”

 

“Yeah.”

 

“Let’s do it, then.”

 

Rose stood up quickly, looking across the room at the ganger, and giving her a brief nod before the two jogged over to their respective levers, and grasped them tightly. She spared the false Rose one last glance before the two pulled the levers into place, then rushed back to the magnaclamps, the ganger holding onto the clamp itself, and Rose pulling the Doctor onto her lap. She held onto him so tightly she was almost certain they didn’t actually need the magnaclamp, but it certainly helped as the breach opened in a blinding white light at the end of the lever room.

 

The blonde blinked, and looked away from it, watching instead as the windows broke in Yvonne’s office, and all of the many Cybermen and Daleks began pouring in through the new hole that had formed in the side of Torchwood Tower. Rose laughed in delight, the smile on her face only growing when she saw the Doctor smiling victoriously as they flew past them into the void.

 

“The breach is open!” he cried, “Into the void!”

 

And for a moment it worked perfectly. For a good sixty seconds Daleks and Cybermen flew past them in a steady stream into the blinding white light. Their plan was working flawlessly. They’d done it. They’d won the battle. Their victory was all but certain. All they had to worry about now was saving the Doctor.

 

But victory didn’t last very long. Suddenly the lever on the ganger’s side of the room shifted, causing the computer to announce, “OFFLINE,” a single word that sent chills running down the spines of each person in the room.

 

Instantly, the ganger sprung into action, letting go of the magnaclamp with one hand, and reaching out for the lever with the other in an attempt to bring the lever back into position.

 

“Don’t!” Rose cried, reaching an arm out for her as the other clung tightly to the Doctor, “You’ll fall!”

 

The ganger looked back at her mid-reach as the strong wind created by the void’s suction began to slow, “It’s better me than you! I have to do this!”

 

“You can’t!”

 

“Rose I know I have to make up for what I’ve done, this is how I can do that! Besides, what’s gonna happen to me when Kovarian finds out that I’ve failed? That I’ve changed? I’d rather die here than face whatever she’s got planned!”

 

Having said her piece, the ganger continued her reach until her fingers clasped around the lever, forcing her to let go of the magnaclamp as both hands gripped the lever tightly. As the suction slowed, her feet found traction on the ground, and she used this split second to push the lever back into position, laughing gleefully when the computer announced, “ONLINE AND LOCKED.”

 

The laughter didn’t last long as the pull of the void became stronger again, and the evil creatures they’d been battling throughout the day flew into the light once more. The suction also pulled the ganger back off the ground, her entire body lifting off into the air as she fought its pull. “Shit!” she cried as her arms stretched to their limits, and her fingers began to slip from the lever one by one.

 

“Hold on!” Rose cried, reaching a hand out toward the ganger, “ _Hold on!_ ”

 

It was no use. The pull was too strong. Suddenly the ganger lost her grip on the magnaclamp, and as if in slow motion, Rose could see every shift into a look of horror on the ganger’s face as she fell toward the void, just like the Cybermen and Daleks had been moments earlier, though they were coming in a less steady stream now. She let out a horrified scream as she fell closer and closer to the blinding white light of the void, shielding her eyes as she approached, not wanting to look when she finally fell inside.

 

She never did fall into the void. In that moment, Pete Tyler appeared just in front of the bright light with his yellow button in hand, and caught the ganger before she could finish her fall. It all happened so fast, Rose wasn’t sure what to make of the expressions on their faces as they realized who they were before Pete pressed the button again, and they disappeared into his universe.

 

“Oh my god,” Rose breathed, pulling her hand back, and wrapping it around the Doctor once more even though the pull of the void was getting increasingly weaker.

 

Shortly after the ganger and Pete disappeared to the parallel universe, the light from the void began to fade, and it crumpled like paper as the wind slowed to a halt. There were no more Daleks and cybermen rushing by them, but Rose held on tightly to the Doctor and the magnaclamp until there was nothing but a wall before them.

Rose let out a few shuddering breaths before she turned her gaze to the ailing Doctor. He was beginning to sweat, and there was blood seeping through the bandages Mickey and Jake had put on his wounds, all the way through his oxford and suit jacket. His breathing was shaky and unsteady, and his eyes were struggling to focus.

 

She hadn't wanted to believe it. She'd tried to deny that he had been getting worse and worse as time went on, that by the time they reached the magnaclamps, it was almost certain that he was going to die, or at least, regenerate. But it hadn't started yet. That golden glow had yet to show its face on his body. All that she could see was the face of a man who was slowly, but surely, dying.

 

"Rose," he whispered quietly, "It isn't happening."

 

She held him closer against her, letting go of the magnaclamp in order to caress his cheek, "Shhh, don't strain yourself," she said softly, "You're going to be fine. It'll happen eventually, yeah?"

 

The Doctor shook his head slowly, and tears began to brim in his eyes, "There are cases," he explained, his lower lip trembling, "Rare cases, but cases where a time lord is too injured to regenerate. Sometimes it just doesn't happen—AH!" He groaned in pain, and clamped his jaw shut to prevent himself from screaming.

 

Rose fought back tears of her own as she watched him struggle, attempting to be strong for him as her faith that he'd make it out of this began to spiral downwards. "Doctor," she murmured, "I'm so sorry. I'm so sorry I didn't get out sooner, and I'm..." she choked back a sob, "I'm sorry I didn't fight harder against the soldiers... if I'd just fought harder..."

 

There was no fighting back the tears now; they were flowing openly from her eyes and down to his trench coat, staining the soft, brown material further. The Doctor weakly raised one of his hands, and wiped her tears away, "Rose, promise me something," he begged her, one of his own tears falling onto her lap as she held him.

 

She nodded, "Anything," she breathed, "I'll—I'll do an-anything."

 

The Doctor gave her a weak smile, and with a pained groan he reached into his trench coat pockets, and pulled out a small, Tardis blue book, "Take care of the Tardis for me, Rose," he told her, "p-please. When I'm gone, she'll be the only piece of Gallifrey left. She'll-she'll be alone, she's gonna need you."

 

Another sob made its way out of Rose's throat, and she began stroking his hair with one of her hands, "Of course I will," she whispered softly, "I always will."

 

A look of relief crossed his face, and he reached a blood covered hand over, and touched the book he handed her, "That's everything you need to know about flying her," he said solemnly, taking in another shaky breath, "GAH! I haven't got much time."

 

She shook her head rapidly, "No, no, no," she protested, "Don't leave me, please don't leave me!"

 

The Doctor visibly choked back a few sobs, "There was so much I wanted to do," he whispered, caressing her cheek, "I wanted to take you so many places. I wanted to let myself be happy, I wanted _us_ to be happy... just th-this once. I don't want to leave you."

 

"Then don't. Stay. P-please," she begged him, not caring about the blood he'd accidentally smeared on her face. She didn't want to think about it.

 

“I’m scared, Rose,” he breathed shakily, “I’m so scared. I…”

 

Rose shushed him, and continued gingerly stroking his hair, trying to comfort him in anyway she could. It was real, now, she knew. He was going to die, and there was nothing she could do except hold him and try to make this easier for him. All she could do was watch him slip away from her. “I know,” she whispered, “I know, it’s okay. It’s okay to be scared. I’m scared, too.”

 

“I’m scared.”

 

“I know.”

 

“I don’t want to go,” he said with a sob of his own making its way out of his throat, “I…”

 

“Don’t go,” Rose begged him, “Just stay, stay with me.”

 

"Rose, I just want you to know I don't regret a second of it. Not one minute of my time with you," his eyes locked onto hers as he spoke, finding a new solidarity in his voice, "Well, maybe I regret letting you bring Adam," they both laughed half-heartedly at the comment, "But other than that, my only regret is that you weren't the one I told my feelings to."

 

"You've still got the chance," she reminded him, and this time she wiped back the tears that fell from his cheeks, "I'm not going anywhere."

 

"Quite right, too," he whispered, his eyes exploring her face intensely, as if he were trying to imprint every last detail of it into memory, "There were a number of times I wanted to tell you. Well, you were her, and I almost said it twice, Rose, but something kept stopping me," he weakly lifted a finger and pointed to his head, "Something in here kept saying that it wasn't right. Deep down, I knew. I think I always knew."

 

Rose grinned her tongue in teeth grin through her tears, "I know you did," she replied, "You're not as daft as you look."

 

He smiled weakly up at her, "Rose Tyler," he breathed, stroking her cheek with his thumb. He took a few deep breaths, and closed his eyes for a second, swallowing as he gathered his nerves, then he looked her in the eyes, and a look of pure happiness appeared on his face, "I love you," he finally said, "And in all I did wrong, the ganger, the time war, I said that to the right person. The right pink and yellow human. Matter of fact… I think I'll say it again... I love you."

 

A similar smile appeared on her face, and she gently leaned down, hesitating slightly as she got closer and closer to him. His eyes searched hers as she leaned further and further down, and eventually they closed as she gently pressed her lips to his in their first, and most likely last, true kiss. Rose's hands caressed both of his cheeks as she softly kissed the time lord, and felt his lips weakly, albeit passionately, respond not even a second later.

 

The Doctor's hands found their way into her hair, and gently gripped it as he deepened their kiss, kissing her like it was the last time, because they both truly believed it was.

 

The blonde took to memory every detail of the way his lips caressed hers. Every single movement of his soft lips against hers was firmly imprinted in her brain. If this was to be the only time they ever truly kissed, she wanted to remember what it felt like to kiss him.

 

She wanted to remember the smooth feeling of his skin underneath her fingertips, the way his hair felt when one of her hands shifted up, and her fingers buried themselves in it. The contours of his cheek bone as her other fingertips ghosted over it, and the way his hands felt in her hair.

 

Piece by piece the kiss was forever committed to her memory. Every detail of it. Every slight brush of their lips, or of their hands on skin or hair, and every spark of electricity igniting the air around them as the kiss intensified. If only it weren't their last.

 

Rose felt more tears falling down her cheek as she kissed him, but the Doctor's wandering hands slid down, and wiped them off affectionately. She smiled solemnly into the kiss as the Doctor's hands fell away from her cheeks, and slowly descended, landing somewhere she couldn’t see.

 

She then gently pulled away, and rested her forehead on his, "Doctor," she breathed, "I—" She never got to finish her sentence. She looked up, and gazed at the fallen Doctor. In that moment, she felt his chest fall, then fail to rise again, his eyes remained closed, and his hands had fallen limp with one at his side, and one of them gingerly landing on his stomach. The rest of his body had become limp as well, and when Rose pressed a hand over his chest, there wasn't even one heart beating.

 

"No," she breathed, pressing the hand on his chest again, a sense of dread washing over her when she felt nothing beneath her palm. More sobs escaped her as she realized what had happened. His time had run out. He'd succumbed to the injuries inflicted by the ganger.

 

The mission was completed. The Doctor was dead.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I would also like to note the precise archive warning that this isn't tagged with. There's a good reason.


	32. Death at Torchwood Tower

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> These chapters have been the most fun I've ever had writing. I wrote these probably in March/April when I realized where I wanted this to end, at least, this first bit of the series. Still got a long way to go from here, but I won't take three years to finish the others. Anyway, have fun with this angst.

The Doctor was dead.

She choked on her own breath, realizing he'd died during their kiss, and she let more tears fall onto the Doctor's body, openly sobbing as she cradled him. She wrapped her arms around him, and held on tighter than ever before.

The Doctor was dead. She couldn't wrap her head around it; around the overwhelming sense of grief she felt as she held his still warm body in her arms and cried. This had to be some sort of nightmare, some sort of terrible, terrible nightmare that she'd wake up from in a few moments and be completely fine. The Doctor couldn't be dead. He couldn't be. Nine hundred years for it to end like this? But no, he was truly gone. There wasn't a sign of life coming from him. The last of the time lords was dead.

It wasn't fair. She'd just escaped. She'd just found him again. The ganger was finally out of their lives. They should've been jubilantly celebrating their victory over the Daleks and the Cybermen. They didn't have that chance, and they never would. It just wasn't fair.

A wetness began to spread on her torso as she held the still bleeding time lord against her. She ignored it, and continued to mourn her fallen... friend? Just what had they become in that moment before his death? Another series of sobs racked her body as she thought of what they could've been, and what they could now never be. Though the ganger had had a change of heart before she'd fallen into the other universe, Rose cursed her existence. If it hadn't been for her, those two hearts would still be beating. They would be running to the Tardis holding hands, ready to celebrate their life together. To begin that life.

She wouldn't be where she was. On the floor of Torchwood tower, clinging to him tightly, fearing what would happen when she'd eventually have to let go of him. Feeling his still warm blood begin to soak through her jacket as she held him. She wouldn't have to watch as the final tears he'd shed continued to make their way down his cheeks, or feel her eyes begin to dry out from having cried so many.

She would've been able to say, "I love you, too."

Rose could feel his body starting to get colder in her arms, and she only pulled him closer, trying to cling to every last bit of warmth left inside of him. She couldn't leave him, not yet. She wasn't even sure if she could, but she had made a promise. She had to look after the TARDIS. The ship was hers now, she supposed, and she was all alone.

Eventually, she would have to leave the Doctor's side, and join the ship, but that was a problem for another minute. She needed this last moment with him. She needed it like air.

She held onto him tighter than she'd ever held onto anything, she was fairly certain. With one hand she stroked his hair, and the other she kept wrapped around his waist, keeping him pulled against her as she buried her face in the crook of his neck, her tears falling into the collar of his trench coat.

After several moments of crying and sitting on the floor rocking back and forth with him in her lap, she pulled away, and rested her forehead against his once again. She thought the words "I love you," over and over again as if the dead man would hear it.

Another sob racked through her as the realization that she'd never gotten to say it truly hit her. She hadn't gotten the chance. He would never hear her say it. I love you too , she thought again, I really love you .

She was concentrating so hard on the words she hadn't gotten to say that she didn't notice the golden glow beginning in his finger tips. "Come back," she pleaded softly, knowing it was useless, "Come back to me."

The golden light began to illuminate his face, his arms, his entire body, but the grieving human didn't notice. She didn't notice as the energy built up, glowing brighter and brighter until it suddenly exploded.

No human had ever interfered with a time lord's regeneration. No human had been in contact with one while they were regenerating. The consequences were unknown territory that neither species was willing to risk exploring.

Rose felt a burning sensation rush through her, and as it grew more intense, she screamed, light flooding in through her closed eyes as she held the Doctor's head against her chest. She could feel all of that energy pouring inside of her, filling her until she was ready to explode.

The light was now blinding even with her eyes closed, and she let out one last pained scream before the energy finally ceased its reign of terror, and the light dimmed to a softly glowing golden color.

Panting, she began to open her eyes, only to see that the room around her was now gold. It seemed to be lining her vision. She immediately turned her attention to the Doctor, and glanced down at his face to see what changes had been made this time around, only to gasp in shock when he was the same as ever. "Doctor?" She asked softly, looking him up and down, her gold lined vision making all of the edges blurry, and therefore harder to see. Still, the rising and falling of his chest in smooth, even breaths was among the most vivid sights she'd ever seen. She laughed jubilantly, and placed her hand over his chest. Both hearts were beating steadily in his rib cage, and she breathed a sigh of relief.

Suddenly, the burning feeling began to ramp up again inside of her body, and once again she felt as though she were going to explode. Someone had shaken the soda bottle, and the cap had just been taken off. As quickly and gently as she could, Rose moved the Doctor off of her lap, and smoothly laid him down on the floor before suddenly the energy exploded out of her. She screamed as she threw her hands out and her head back like the leather-clad Doctor had during his first regeneration, and felt the energy burn through her on its way out. It felt like hours went by as she stood on her knees on the floor of Torchwood tower, though she was vaguely aware that it was only a matter of seconds before the golden energy stopped flowing from her, and the glow faded from her vision.

Rose then collapsed onto her hands and knees before the body of the unconscious Doctor, and gasped for breath several times before she was able to breathe properly. Once her breathing was under control, she took in her own appearance, wondering just what the regeneration energy had done to her.

Her hands looked the same. Same chipping manicure from the nights she'd spent at Torchwood with Jack, same bleached hair color, and-once she reached her hands up- same face shape, too. Evidently, whatever time lord regenerations did to humans did not include the same things as they did to time lords.

Sighing with relief, Rose crawled over to the Doctor once more, and began stroking his hair, "Thank you," she whispered, "Thank you for coming back."

The Doctor remained motionless as Rose once again wrapped her arms around him, pulling him against her. She relished in the feeling of his two hearts beating beneath the palm she'd placed on his chest, letting out a shuddering breath when she felt warm air against her collarbone from his own quiet breaths.

He was unconscious. She didn't know when he'd wake up, but she'd take an unconscious Doctor over a dead Doctor any day. A small laugh escaped her lips as pure joy rushed through her veins.

Just moments ago, he'd died in her arms, his lips pressed against hers in what she'd thought would be their last kiss, their last embrace. But in that moment he was alive, and they had a lot more kisses. A lot more hugs, cuddles, and things that made their relationship theirs. She had a second chance. She would get to tell him she loved him, too. She'd deliver on that promise of forever.

She pressed a gentle kiss to the top of his head, and glanced up at the sunlight that had begun to filter in through the broken window, a gentle breeze blowing her hair back as she breathed in the fresh air.

The Doctor was alive, and she couldn't have been happier. She felt for a moment as if she were in her own little bubble of unadulterated glee. But every bubble had to burst eventually, and not a moment later, she heard the sound of sirens approaching the tower, and she knew they had to get the hell out of there.

Rose glanced down at the still unconscious Doctor. She had to get him back to the Tardis. More specifically, into bed. He needed to sleep off whatever had just happened. Even though he hadn't changed his face, it was evident that he'd undergone a regeneration, a regeneration which she'd felt. It had passed through her, and even now she could feel a slight tingling beneath her skin, though she didn't know what it was. She wondered if she could ever hope to understand it. It was a question only the Doctor could answer, and he wouldn't be answering it if they were found by the police in Torchwood tower.

She looked down at him once again, wondering how the hell she'd get him to the Tardis without hurting him. Rose may have been fairly strong—evidently strong enough to keep him from falling into the void—but she wasn't sure her strength would be able to get him all the way down to his ship.

As the sirens grew closer and closer, Rose had to think quickly. She gently set him down on the ground, and scooted around so she was behind his head, positioning herself so she could reach her arms under his, and lift him by the armpits. Slowly, she reached her arms underneath him, and brought them up through the spaces between his arms and his chest. Then she placed a foot in front of her, and began to stand slowly until she was at her full height, and he was dragging awkwardly in front of her.

It'll have to do , she supposed, and it worked. She walked backwards toward the lifts they'd taken to get up there, and pressed the down button. She could only pray that it still worked. By the mercy of all the gods the people in the universe believed in, the lift dinged, and a few seconds later, the doors opened, and Rose grunted as she dragged the Doctor inside.

There was a brief struggle as she reached one of her hands out to press the ground floor button, a task which proved difficult as the unconscious time lord kept getting in her way, but eventually she managed, and the lift headed for the bottom floor of Torchwood. As soon as their descent began, Rose leaned back against the wall, clutching the Doctor tightly against her chest.

It suddenly felt as if she were going to cry again as a lump rose in her throat, and she swallowed to push it down. As long as the day had been, it wasn't anywhere near over. She could cry when the Doctor was in the Tardis, and they were somewhere safe. Until then, she had to be strong. She could lose her shit later.

She straightened up as they neared the bottom floor of the tower, and as soon as the doors opened, she turned herself around, and kept walking backwards until she reached the doors that contained the warehouse the Tardis was being kept in. With a shock she discovered that the doors were already opened, and she gulped nervously. That was never a good sign. She let out a shaky breath as she dragged the Doctor inside, feeling her arms beginning to burn from having carried him this far already. The adrenaline coursing through her system was failing her. She grunted painfully as they turned a corner around boxes full of alien weaponry—boxes he'd want to come back for and dispose of later, she had no doubt—and headed down the long aisles of things Torchwood had collected before the Doctor and her ganger had come here.

As she rounded another corner in their journey to the Tardis, she gasped audibly. If she'd had a free hand, it would've clasped over her mouth as her eyes scanned the scenery, landing on body after body. Some were lying limply on the floor, others had been draped over the various machinery in the room, and some were mere scorch marks on the ground. It was horrifying to look at, and on top of what she'd suffered in the top floor of the tower, she was fairly certain the wall she'd put up to prevent herself from crying was going to come crashing down at any moment.

The blonde sniffled nervously, and she quickly made another turn, sighing with relief when she turned her head and saw the Tardis at the end of this aisle of alien tech. Just a little farther , she coaxed herself, come on, Rose.

Her strength began to build up again as she approached the ship, ignoring the ache in her muscles as she got closer and closer. The sweet relief of the Tardis was a few meters away, and she almost smiled as she leaned against the doors, finally reunited with the Tardis. She gently set down the Doctor, and took a few deep breaths before she reached into her jacket pocket, and pulled out the Tardis key the ganger had returned to her.

The true Rose pressed the key gingerly to her lips, then she turned and inserted it into the lock, twisting until she heard it unlock. She then pushed the door open, and for the first time in a month, Rose Tyler stepped into the Tardis.

There wasn't time for her to celebrate, however. She could hear the sound of footsteps on the floor above her. The authorities had arrived at Torchwood tower, and unless they wanted to be brought in for questioning, they needed to hide. She quickly turned, and reached down again for the Doctor, lifting him in the same way she had before she brought him inside the Tardis, who shut the doors behind her as she dragged the Doctor into the ship.

She grunted as she lifted him up the steps that led out of the console room and into the corridor, wondering which room she needed to bring him in to rest. Was it his bedroom? The med-bay? The couch on the library they cuddled on too often to admit in public? Where the hell could she bring him?

The Tardis was quick to answer that question for her, and a few seconds later, a door that was tinted slightly pink opened to her right, and Rose's eyebrows furrowed. Why was the Tardis leading her to her bedroom? She could only wonder as she nudged the door open with her back, and dragged the unconscious Doctor inside.

By then, her arms were shaking. They were beyond ready to give out. If she didn't set the Doctor down in the next few seconds, she was going to drop him. "Fat chance," she muttered, lifting him up a little further in a sudden burst of strength as she approached her bed.

Finally, she reached the pink sheeted mattress, and set the Doctor down on top of a soft, light pink blanket the ganger had brought in to hold on to the night after Krop Tor. It was one of the last memories of the ganger's she had access to before she made her grand escape thanks to Jack and Mickey's combined efforts.

She immediately collapsed onto her knees, and took several heaving breaths as her arms recovered from the hard work they'd just done. The Doctor was a skinny bloke, but he sure as hell was heavy. She rested a hand on the foot of the bed, and turned to look at the sleeping Doctor, who once again had a hand on his stomach, and a hand at his side.

A lump formed in her throat as she remembered the position he'd been in when she discovered he'd died. She pressed it down, deciding that she needed to be brave for one last moment. Shakily, she stood up, and gently removed the blanket from underneath the Doctor, then she laid it over him. She walked over to the head of the bed, and grabbed a pillow, carefully lifting his head, and placing the cushion-like fabric underneath it. The way the actions ruffled his hair made her smile for the first time since she'd discovered he was alive.

With a sigh, she lay down on the bed beside him, and began to stroke his hair, feeling the tears rise to her eyes once again as the day's events slammed into her all at once. This time, she let them fall. A sob soon left her throat, and she wrapped an arm around his waist, pulling him tightly against her as she cried, pouring every emotion she'd felt for the past month into the time lord's chest.

Every moment of the painful month they were apart flitted across her memory. She recalled the moment she'd been taken, the moment in her life she suspected she'd regret the most of any. If she'd just left the stupid drier alone... If she'd just been more careful when she left the Tardis, or if she hadn't left it at all... none of it would've happened.

She remembered watching Reyna's murder through the ganger's eyes, and choked "I'm sorry"s left her lips as she saw the ganger's hands plunge the knife into the innocent woman's back ten times. She remembered the other murders, too. All in all there had been a good dozen or so throughout time and space, and a few Ood as well. She cried out in pain as her fingers clutched at the fabric of the Doctor's suit jacket, trying to grab at anything she could hold on to to keep her sane through the attack of memories.

She recalled the first kiss the ganger had stolen from her. She remembered vividly the way she could feel his hands on her body, the ganger's body. She could feel the ganger undoing the buttons of his shirt, claiming they were overdressed, and him suddenly closing off. He'd known. Somewhere in the back of his head he'd known before things could go too far.

He'd known again on Krop Tor. Sure, the cell phone ringing had been what interrupted them, but he'd chosen to deal with the message rather than finish his business with the ganger. He'd known. Somewhere inside of him, he'd known. These memories, though painful, she considered victories over the ganger.

There were some things she couldn't take from Rose, and that was one of them. The confession of "I love you," was one of them. And perhaps the most important of all the things the ganger could never take from them was the Doctor's life. Those two hearts beat a steady drumbeat beneath her hand, and they weren't going to stop anytime soon.

The horrid string of memories ended with the sight of the paling, bleeding Doctor in her arms telling her he loved her, a sound which would've sounded musical to her ears in any other circumstance, but was mired in the tears that threatened to burst from his eyes as he said it, from the galloping of his hearts towards their last beats. She let out more sobs into the Doctor's chest as she remembered their lips finally meeting, only for the life behind his to fade once he wiped away her tears. His final thought had been to wipe away her tears, to make her pain stop.

Her head began to ache as the crying continued, and she sniffled as she remembered holding his body in her arms, feeling him growing colder by the minute. "I'm sorry," she breathed shakily as she continued clutching his chest, "I..." she couldn't finish her sentence, the final onslaught of tears proving too much for her to speak, and she let it flow out of her as the memories came to a close with the burning pain of his regeneration rushing through her, and the feeling of those hearts beating inside his chest once more.

She wasn't sure how long she stayed there holding him, but it was long enough for the Tardis to dim the lights like she usually did to signify night. She knew she should've let go by then. She should've been off waiting for him to wake up, letting him rest it off, but she couldn't leave his side. After what had transpired that day, how could she?

Instead, she took her sleeve, and wiped the remaining eye makeup off of her face, not bothered by the stains it left on the blue jacket. The damn thing was already stained to hell anyway by the Doctor's... she shook off the thought, and gently lifted the edge of the blanket so she could properly curl up against him.

The moment she was under the blanket, she curled up tightly beside him, slipping an arm around his waist, and relishing in the warmth that she felt through the layers of fabric between them. The other arm held on to one of his, and she pressed a kiss to his shoulder before she rested her head on top of it, using him as her pillow.

With that, she closed her eyes, and made a silent promise to stay with him until he woke up. She promised to stay forever. She promised to make up for all the lost time they had thanks to the ganger. And she promised to one day tell him she loved him too. After all that, Rose loosened her tight grip on the time lord, and slowly sank into sleep.


	33. Crimson Sunrise

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm adding this in the hopes that AO3 actually lets it show up in the tags as having updated today. It didn't do that for the last chapter, and I'm clueless as to why. Anyway, here's another chapter even though it's getting late, so for those very few of you that are reading this, thank you.

When Rose woke up, the lights had gotten brighter again, signifying that it was now daytime. She blinked a few times, trying to remember where she was, then it came to her. 

 

She was back on the Tardis, she'd fallen asleep on her bed for the first time in a month after she dragged the Doctor down from the top of Torchwood tower. She'd fallen asleep with him in her arms. 

 

A smile rose to her face when she could still feel his warmth beneath her. She could still feel his hearts beating as his chest rose and fell beneath her palm. She glanced up at his face, and was slightly saddened to discover he was still unconscious. She wondered how long it would take before he woke up, and they could properly reunite. 

 

She reached up, and began to stroke his hair before pressing a kiss to his forehead. It didn't matter that he was still out cold, she was just glad to have him back. She only wondered what it'd take to wake him up sooner. 

 

Her eyes drifted to the jacket sleeve on the arm she'd reached up to touch him, and she let loose a shaky breath when she saw the bloodstains on the jacket sleeve. A look of fear grew in her eyes as she looked all down the sleeve, blood stains covering the fabric at random intervals, and that wasn't even the worst of it. 

 

Slowly, she unwrapped herself from the blanket covering both herself and the Doctor, and stood, slowly walking into her bathroom to glance at herself in the mirror. She turned on the light, and gasped when she saw her reflection. 

 

The front of her jacket had one, massive dark red stain on the front, covering a good portion of her stomach and chest. She shivered as she remembered the precise cause, when she'd held him tightly against her, never wanting to let go even though he was dead. 

 

The next thing her eyes landed on was the dried crimson on her face from when he'd tried to comfort her. Her cheek was covered in a thin layer of the stuff, some of the stain streaked with the tracks of the many tears she'd shed. There were even traces of the crimson in her hair, and she wasn't sure where to begin with her hands. 

 

It took all of her willpower not to cover her mouth with both hands as she let loose more sobs. She wondered when she'd be able to stop crying. She had a feeling it would be a while. The trauma was too fresh. 

 

Rose took in several deep breaths, then she sighed deeply, and stared at her intense reflection, leaning against the counter before her. The blonde gave herself another once over, then her gaze fell back onto the time lord sleeping soundly on her bed. If this was how she looked... 

 

She gulped nervously as she walked back over to him. She almost didn't want to know as she sat back down on the bed beside him.  

 

Still she pulled back the blanket, and gasped again. This time she was unable to control the flying of her hands to cover her mouth. The Doctor's torso had taken the worst of it. The clothes were stained from not only whatever had gotten on them before he'd had his injuries treated, but also the blood from when the injuries had been too intense for the gauze. The same gauze she suspected was still attached to his newly healed body. 

 

The Doctor also had a stain over his shoulder in the other place the ganger had stabbed him, and she winced. They'd only put the trench coat on him to cover up his injuries when they were running about. When he'd bled through the gauze... he wasn't going to be happy that his favorite coat was stained when he woke, though she suspected that'd be the least of his worries. 

 

His hands were even worse off than hers. He'd been attempting to apply pressure to his wounds the entire time, especially when it came time to hold on to the magnaclamps. They were covered in a much thicker layer than hers were, and the sight of it combined with all the other things she'd seen that day sent a wave of nausea over her. 

 

"Come on, Rose," she muttered to herself, "Be strong." 

 

With that in mind, she looked over the time lord one last time. She couldn't just let him stay like this. She needed to do something. 

 

Rose glanced around the room, then took in a deep breath, and looked down at the sleeping Doctor. He looked incredibly peaceful in this state. There was no evidence other than the red staining his clothes that he'd ever been hurt, that he'd ever died. He simply looked at peace, almost innocent, even. 

 

She smiled at him, then leaned down, and pressed another kiss to his forehead before she stood up again, "I'll be right back," she promised him, then she quickly dashed into her bathroom, and pulled a series of blue wash cloths out of one of her drawers. She quickly dampened them all in the sink, some still dripping thoroughly when she brought them back over to the bed, and laid them down on a nearby chair before she grabbed one, and reached gently for his hands. 

 

His companion made quick work of cleaning the blood off of both of his hands, deciding to start with the one patch of skin where it was most visible before she opened up the suit jacket and his shirt to reveal what had been done underneath. She dreaded to think of it as she pressed on with the task, working until every last trace of the dried crimson was gone from his fingers. 

 

Gulping nervously, she grabbed another washcloth, tossing the newly bloodied one aside, then she positioned herself so she could get a better grip on all the buttons involved in the Doctor's wardrobe. She started with his suit jacket buttons, unbuttoning the three of them before she attempted to open the jacket, wincing at the way the dried liquid made the jacket stick to the shirt underneath. Gently, she tugged at the material until it gave way, and she was able to part the jacket enough to give herself access to the shirt buttons underneath. 

 

Taking in a shaky breath, Rose began to undo the buttons of the Doctor's oxford. One by one the buttons came undone under Rose's shaking fingers—which only shook harder when she reached the part of the fabric soaked in his blood— and soon that was parted too to reveal more dried liquid covering his bare skin, mattifying the hair on his chest, causing the gauze laid there to stick tightly to his skin, and making patterns where his clothes had wrinkled against him in the night. 

 

"I should've done this last night," Rose muttered to herself though she knew she couldn't have. She was exhausted when she arrived in the Tardis carrying the limp Doctor in her arms. Exhausted and traumatized. Not a good combination for thinking clearly, but a good combination for falling asleep with him in her arms. 

 

What mattered was that she was doing it now. With that in mind, Rose took the washcloth in her hand, and worked to wipe off the blood and the gauze stuck on the Doctor's abdomen. If she weren't still so upset, she was fairly certain she would've blushed as she did so. She'd never gotten this close to him before. It disappointed her that it had to happen while he was unconscious, and while she was cleaning him of his own blood. 

 

It took a lot longer to cleanse his torso than his hands, but she managed the task with three more of the wash cloths she'd brought in from her bathroom. This task was one she found particularly calming, since she could feel the steady pulses of his hearts beating beneath his chest as it rose and fell evenly. She was still met with a sense of glee when she remembered that he was alive. She'd gotten him back, and he hadn't even changed. 

 

The part of her that wasn't recovering from the horrors she'd seen in the past several months was wondering just what the hell had happened to her. She could still feel that energy pulsing inside of her. The energy from his regeneration had somehow passed from him to her, though it burned a lot less now. It was almost comforting at this point, yet she was unsure what that meant for her in the future. 

 

One thing she was certain of was that she wouldn't find out what it meant without him. 

 

Rose stared down at him, then her eyes drifted to the stain on his shoulder that she hadn't gotten to yet. With a sigh, she grabbed the final wash cloth from the chair, then sat back down on the bed, and gingerly lifted the Doctor onto her lap. She could feel his hearts beating against her legs, and she smiled down at him shyly before she worked to remove the three layers of clothing he'd been wearing on his top half. 

 

She managed to get the trench coat off with much difficulty. The removal of the lengthy fabric proved to be a rather arduous task, but she succeeded eventually, tossing it over the chair with the wash cloths before she set to work removing his suit jacket and oxford. Those were much easier, and within twenty seconds, both were splayed across the chair. 

 

The blonde's gaze then fell on the last patch of dried blood over his shoulder. "Here we go," she whispered, picking up the washcloth, and bringing it to the final place the ganger had stabbed him. A minute later there was no trace of blood on his body. He was finally clean. 

 

Her eyes drifted over the spots on his body she'd just cleaned, staring in disbelief at what had just twelve hours earlier been fatal cuts. After a moment of mere staring, her hands found their way over the two spots on his abdomen where he'd been brutally stabbed, and she remembered the way they'd looked when Jake and Mickey had tried to heal him. There was only what appeared to be long healed scars on his skin now. Her fingers traced the length of each cut, which was only about an inch and a half for each of the three, but each one had been deep, since the ganger had driven her knife to the hilt inside of him. If it weren’t for those scars, she would’ve almost believed it never happened. But it did, and while the memory would haunt her forever she knew the regeneration had truly healed him. The Doctor was safe. 

 

Once again, she pulled him to her, and held him close, relishing in the feeling of his warm breath on her neck as she whispered sweet nothings into his ear, wondering if he could hear any of what she was saying. She hoped he hadn't heard any of it. She didn't want him to know the way she'd lost it before she'd fallen asleep beside him. She never wanted him to find out. 

 

Eventually, she set him down, and gently pulled the blanket back over him before she moved off of the bed. She placed a pillow underneath his head, then she squeezed his hand before she turned and walked into the bathroom. It was her turn to clean up. 

 

Rose was shaking when she turned on the shower, eager to remove the bloody clothes she'd worn the previous day on the failed mission to stop this all from happening. She wanted nothing more than to throw that stupid blue jacket into a black hole and forget it existed. 

 

As soon as her clothes were removed, she felt the water to see if it was hot, then stepped inside when she was satisfied, closing the Tardis blue shower curtain behind her.  _ The ganger was right, the Doctor is obsessed with his ship, _ she thought. 

 

Another shudder rocked through her when she began to scrub the blood from her hands, and it ran down her fingers in crimson trails before it fell onto the tiled floor, and made its way into the drain. It wasn't over fast enough. She let out a whimper as she scrubbed harder to get it all off. 

 

The sight of the red liquid dropping off of her was only made worse when the water from the shower wetted her hair, and trails came rushing down her body. She clenched her eyes shut, and tried not to pay the sight of it much attention as she turned to face the rushing water. She then scrubbed the crimson horror off of her face vigorously. At least, she hoped she got it off. She didn't want to open her eyes and risk it falling in. 

 

Another choked whimper escaped Rose when she finally did open her eyes to see the last of the Doctor's blood being washed down the drain. She was shaking harder than she had been before as she reached for her shampoo, deciding she needed to double up on the washing that morning. She needed to be certain that every speck of that terrible day was physically gone. The mental aspects would take a lot longer to get over. They would never be erased as long as she lived.

 

Fifteen minutes later, Rose emerged from the shower wrapped in a pink towel she'd found hidden underneath her sink. It was the only one she suspected the ganger had never used during her travels with the Doctor given the light coating of dust it had on it, but it was good enough for her. She gave it a firm shaking, then she wrapped it around her body before she walked out into her bedroom in a cloud of steam to find the Doctor still sound asleep on her bed. 

 

She walked over to the nightstand on the other side of the bed, and pulled open the drawers, digging through them until she found a suitable pair of knickers, trousers, a shirt, and a jacket. Though the Doctor was unconscious, she still headed back into the bathroom to put them all on, not bothering with the makeup the ganger had left lying out on the counter. Those were other things she wanted to throw into a black hole. Even her favorite eyeliner. 

 

After another two minutes, Rose emerged from the bathroom, and walked over to the Doctor, wondering just what the hell she could do to wake him up, or if this was anything like the last time he'd regenerated and he just needed the rest. If it was anything like that... 

 

_ Tea!  _ Rose thought,  _ he needs tea! _

 

Immediately, she rushed out of the room, and ran down the corridor to the kitchen. It felt like she was in some sort of race against time, though there was no deadline as she rushed to the cabinets, pulling out the kettle, the tea bags, filling the kettle with water as she hurried to heal her fallen friend... she still wasn't certain what they were now. 

 

He'd told her he loved her, he'd confessed his feelings for her, and had the ganger never shown up in their lives, that would've been her he was snogging through all of space and time. That was another thing that had her head reeling as she set the kettle to boil, and waited impatiently for the damned water to heat up. 

 

She wondered what all of it would mean when he woke up. Would he follow through with those last words he'd said to her? Was that "I love you," going to bring them a future together? She could only hope so as the kettle came to a boil, and she grabbed a cup from another cabinet before she finished the task of making him the tea. 

 

As soon as she finished, Rose raced back, being extra careful not to spill the liquid all over the Tardis corridor. The ship must've been aware of what she was doing, for she placed the door to Rose's bedroom just three doors down from the kitchen this time, and the blonde slipped in quietly. 

 

She rushed around to the side of the bed she'd placed the Doctor on, and put the tea down on the nightstand there before she climbed back onto the bed beside him, this time on top of the blankets. "Please, wake up," she whispered softly, stroking his hair again, "Come back to me."

 

From where she was, she could feel the steam rising from the boiling hot tea entering her nose, and if she could feel it, he certainly could. If this was the way to wake him up, it was going to work. It had to. She didn't know what else to do. 

 

They sat there for a moment, Rose's eyes never leaving the Doctor as she waited for a sign that he was waking up. Anything would've been better than the silence she was getting. That overwhelming silence that made her want to scream. 

 

"Doctor, please," she begged, fingers grasping at the edges of the blanket covering him, "I... I just watched you die," she whispered as a lump rose in her throat, "I... I just want you safe. I just want to tell you..." 

 

The sob reached her before she could finish her sentence, and she swallowed back the ones that would inevitably follow as tears made their way down her cheeks. She quickly reached up and brushed them away before she resumed stroking his hair, "I've been alone," she told him, "I've been dealing with this alone, and I've done pretty well considering, but I think I need help... I... I think I need a Doctor." She almost laughed at the statement, but it was true. She needed a Doctor, this one in particular. 

 

"I need you," she breathed, "The universe needs you, and I'm sure you'll come back eventually, but... you've never been a fan of the slow path before. Seems like a bad time to start."

 

She placed her hand over his chest, and felt his hearts beating. This time the pace was just ever so slightly faster, and under her touch, he stirred slightly. He was still in sleep's clutches, but the time lord was indeed waking up. 

 

Rose's own singular heart raced, and she reached over him for the tea cup, then brought it closer to him. Her hypothesis was that the proximity to the tea would help him continue to awaken. She could only wonder if she was right. 

 

"Doctor?" She asked softly, listening to the soft exhalations of air from the time lord, one of the most musical sounds in the universe. 

 

The time lord stirred again, this time his head turned to the side, and the softest of groans left his lips. Rose set the tea down again, resting her hand on his shoulder as she watched his eyes twitch, then they slowly began to open, revealing the warm, dark brown eyes she loved so much. 

 

"Hi," she breathed, unable to help the laugh that escaped her when his eyes found hers. 

 

The Doctor stared at her, a look of fear crossing his eyes, then a look of relief and joy. His breath hitched as he looked her up and down, and he gave her the softest of smiles. "Rose," he whispered, the word rolling off of his tongue like it was the most magnificent thing in the universe. 

 

The blonde nodded, "Wotcha," she replied, then, unable to contain herself any longer, she threw her arms around him, pulling him tightly against her. One arm wrapped around his upper back, the other supported his head as she embraced him. 

 

An overwhelming feeling of bliss washed over her when the Doctor's  blanket covered arms wrapped around her a second later, and he hugged her back. They leaned back into the bed as the Doctor held onto her tightly as if he would never let go of her again. 

 

"Rose," he repeated, "God, Rose..."

 

She nodded, "I know," she whispered, burying her hand in his hair, "I know."

 

The Doctor was the first to pull away, but he didn't let go of her entirely, his arms were still holding onto hers, and he stared up at her in a mixture of happiness and disbelief. "I'm alive," he observed with a small giggle, "So much for that dramatic speech, eh?"

 

Rose let out a weak laugh, "You still got around to it," she assured him, "all that about how you didn't regret anything except Adam... your laments about who you told your feelings to..."

 

"My what?" He asked, his eyebrows furrowing together in confusion. 

 

Rose looked down and shook her head, then she looked back at him, "I don't want to talk about it just yet," she told him softly, "I just need a little time to..."

 

The Doctor nodded weakly, "How long was I...?"

 

"A good ten hours."

 

"Blimey, that's quite a nap. Suppose it's worth it, though, since I don't even remember regenerating... wait..." he stared at her, then he reached up a hand, and felt his face, eyes widening in shock, "I didn't... how did I survive?"

 

Rose's heart raced faster than it ever had before, and she swallowed nervously before speaking, "Doctor, you didn't," she explained, "You- you died. In my arms... I held you and you..." she swallowed back the sobs that threatened to escape the back of her throat, "I felt your hearts stop beating, you stopped breathing... and I just held you because I couldn't believe it. I couldn't believe you were gone, I didn't want to, so I held you and I..." 

 

She couldn't ignore the year that made its way down her cheek, and a small sob followed as she recalled in vivid detail just what had happened to him. "I felt you growing colder," she continued, "And I was still holding you. I knew I'd have to leave eventually, but I couldn't move... I couldn't leave you there- I- I couldn't do it."

 

Another sob left her, and the Doctor opened up his arms for her, a solemn expression on his face as she laid down beside him, then let him wrap them around her, "It's okay, Rose," he said softly, "What happened next?"

 

She sniffled, and blinked more tears out of her eyes, "I was too busy begging you to come back to notice you'd started the process," she told him, "I'm not sure when it happened, but a few minutes later you exploded in this bright light... I still had you in my arms, it was too late to let go, so I held on. I held on until it was over, and it burned, Doctor, it burned. And when it was over, you were fine and I was still burning until... until it exploded out of me too. And then I was fine, and I looked down, and you were okay, you were still breathing."

 

The Doctor stopped breathing for a second as she said this, and she glanced up at him wondering just what the hell this reaction meant. Did he even know?

 

"Then I carried you down to the Tardis. It wasn't easy, but I did it. I got you here, and then I passed out next to you. I was too tired to do anything else. After that I woke up, and I realized we were both still covered in..." she let out a shaky breath, "Your blood. It was still everywhere. God... it was... and it all came flooding back... and I- I don't know how I made it through, but I did. I cleaned us both up."

 

"Rose," he said in astonishment, "I'm so sorry."

 

She shook her head, "Doctor, I'd do it again in a heartbeat," she confessed, "If it meant you were alive..."

 

"I would, too, for you," he replied, then he tightened his grip on her, "Thank you for telling me, that couldn't have been easy."

 

She shook her head. It hadn't been, but he'd needed to know. "Doctor, what happened to me?" She asked after a moment of silence.

 

"What do you mean?"

 

"When you regenerated, and that energy passed into me, what happened?"

 

"... I'm not quite sure, actually," he admitted, "I could run some tests later, but," he glanced down at her, giving her a small smile, "Right now..."

 

She nodded in understanding, "Rest first?" She asked, "God, a month without being able to... oh, they thought. They thought they could tear us apart, but they never ever will."

 

The Doctor pressed a gentle kiss to the top of her head, "Never say never ever," he warned her quietly, then he frowned suddenly, "Where's my shirt?"

 

Rose wrapped an arm around his waist, "On the chair," she replied, "It was covered in blood. Like I said. Cleaned us both up."

 

The time lord tightened his grip on her slightly, holding her to him like a child holding their favorite teddy bear, afraid to let go. "I'm sorry," he whispered, "I'm so sorry."

 

Rose gently stroked the skin of his abdomen with her thumb, "Shhh," she whispered, "It's okay, just... just hold me."

 

The Doctor was more than willing to comply with that order, and without hesitating, he gently pulled the blanket out from under her, and laid it over them both before she snuggled up against him again. Her head rested on his chest as his arms wrapped around her once more, holding her close. He'd never let go of her again. 

 

Rose closed her eyes and listened to the steady beat of his hearts. Neither of them said anything for a long time. Hours passed as they laid there holding each other. Rose was fairly certain that at some point she'd fallen asleep, which was confirmed by the Doctor when he woke her up by giggling. She'd never grow tired of that giggle. 

 

"I'm sorry this happened to you," the Doctor said suddenly, interrupting the tranquility of the moment, "They were after me, and you got caught in the crossfire."

 

Rose said nothing for a moment, then she looked up at him, meeting his sorrowful eyes, "Doctor, this isn't your fault," she told him, "What they did? It's not your fault."

 

He looked as though he were going to protest, but he was stopped by Rose placing a finger on his lips, "Did you mean what you said?" She asked, "When you were...?" She left off the word dying at the end. 

 

The Doctor gave her a slow nod, "It all gets a bit fuzzy toward the end, though," he admitted, "I remember everything clearly until I suddenly got so... scared, Rose, I was so scared. I thought that was it, I really did. I couldn't..."

 

Rose stared up at him worriedly; if it was all fuzzy after he'd started rambling about being scared, that meant... "Doctor, what's the last thing you remember saying?" 

 

The time lord shrugged casually, not catching the hint of urgency in her voice, "Well, something about how deep down I'd known it was her and not you, I think," he replied, "Yeah, it was, and then... then it's all blank. Brain was going out in those final moments. Can't remember a word after that."

 

Rose's heart fell into her stomach. He didn't remember telling her he loved her. "Oh," she breathed, trying not to let the hurt from the news he'd told her show, "Makes sense."

 

The Doctor reached a hand up, and began to stroke her hair, "I didn't just say those things because I was dying, Rose," he admitted, "I meant it. I wish it had been you I told those things to."

 

She nodded, holding onto him tightly, "Me too," she whispered, "You've still got the chance."

 

A grin appeared on the time lord's face as she stared up at him, but a sadness stayed in his eyes, "Rose, I..." he looked up, searching for the correct thing to say, "if I'm being honest, I've felt something for you for a while, more than just friendship."

 

"I'm shocked," Rose replied sarcastically. 

 

"Shut it, you, I'm trying to give you a better speech than I gave the ganger," he told her, smiling at the giggle that statement earned him, "Anyway, I'm serious. I was still in a leather jacket and jumpers when I first realized... I didn't know what it was at first, to tell you the truth. I'd never... I'd never felt something like that before. Nine hundred years of time and space and I hadn't... and I didn't know what it meant. It scared me at first, Rose. By the time I worked up the courage to tell you, I'd changed my face, and you weren't you anymore. I didn't know that, cause I'm thick, but I should've told you before... Good news is, I'm telling you now. One day, when we're both recovered from all this, I want us to be together, properly together."

 

"One day?"

 

"After what happened, we both need time to heal before we're ready. I meant what I said, I don't want it to be all willy nilly with you."

 

Another giggle escaped Rose's lips, and though she was disappointed by having to wait, she gave him a slow nod, "I understand," she said quietly, "Just don't make me wait too long, yeah?"

 

"Never," he replied, planting another kiss on the top of her head as they continued holding each other. 

 

Rose swallowed the fear building inside of her. A part of her worried that after what the ganger had done, he'd never want to finally start that adventure with her. He'd always look at her wanting to do something, but never moving to do it, because each time he did he'd be reminded of what had happened to him. She trusted him, though, and eventually she knew he'd follow through with that promise of letting them be happy. 

 

He was right, neither one of them was ready to start a relationship just yet. When she thought about it, she was still adjusting to having control of her own body, and having freedom again. She'd been without those things for so long, it almost felt like she still wasn't the one at the wheel. Part of her felt like the ganger was still attached to her, still pulling the strings.

 

The blonde looked up at the Doctor, who smiled down at her as she smiled up at him. That smile was another thing she’d never grow tired of, and it was another thing the ganger could never take from her. Neither were the lips that created them, those glorious lips she’d thought so often of kissing. Even in that moment when they were both vulnerable, their freshly revealed feelings in the air around them all she could think about was how badly she wanted to kiss him, and judging by the direction his gaze was now pointing, he wanted the same thing. 

 

Slowly, she leaned upward as he leaned down, her eyes searching his, asking carefully if this was okay. If there was the slightest hint that he wasn’t one hundred percent on board for what they were about to do, she didn’t want to partake in it. There was no such hint, and they drew closer and closer to one another until their lips parted and came together in their second- unbeknownst to her, third- first kiss. The first one he’d remember. The first one where they were both themselves. 

 

A sense of happiness washed over Rose as her hand came up to caress his cheek, pulling him gently to her as they continued kissing. She wasn’t sure she’d ever felt her feelings for him more intensely than she did in that moment. The only other time she’d felt this way had been when she’d heard him say “I love you,” a moment which had sent her reeling on the inside with a mixture of joy and agony. 

 

She pulled away gently, and rested her forehead against his, more grateful than ever that he was still alive when she ended their kiss. “Thank you,” she whispered. 

 

“For what?” he asked, brushing back a piece of her hair.

 

“For that,” Rose replied, “For being alive. For coming back to me… And for finally letting me show you how I kiss,” she added cheekily. 

 

The two laughed, then Rose resumed her position by his side, resting her head on his chest once more as his arms wrapped themselves around her, holding her tight against him. She snuggled into him, and closed her eyes, waiting patiently for sleep to take her. She waited longer than the Doctor did, and just this once, she felt him fall asleep beneath her. Looking up at the sleeping time lord’s face, she smiled at the serenity that was now evident on his features, then she looked back down, and finally let herself drift into sleep.


	34. Post Traumatic Stress

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, here's the end, folks. For now, at least. I should have the sequel up in a couple of weeks, I'm thinking probably the 27th at 5 PM EST. Anyway, this has been a blast, I'm glad to have finally finished this after three years (I started it on fanfiction.net in April 2014) and I promise the sequel won't take as long to finish.

When the Doctor woke up the next morning, the first thing he noticed was the lack of warmth beside him. Concerned, he opened his eyes to find that Rose was indeed gone, her side of the blanket had been folded back. A smile grew on his features, though, when he discovered she’d tucked him in before she’d gone. 

 

The time lord groaned softly as he sat up, and flung the blanket off of himself, pausing as he realized he was still half dressed. The only clothes adorning his body were presently his trousers and socks, which wouldn’t have been a problem, but upon further inspection, he noticed hints of blood stains still speckled throughout the fabric. 

 

He winced at the sight, then he slowly stood up off the bed, wavering slightly on his feet as he stood for the first time in thirty six hours. The last time he’d been on his feet had been just before Rose had led him over to the magnaclamp, mere moments before he’d…  He didn’t want to think about it, but he couldn’t stop. 

 

The fact of the matter was, he had indeed died. He’d lost consciousness. He’d succumbed to the injuries that the ganger, someone bearing the face of the one human he loved the most, had inflicted upon him. It had felt like he was drowning, like he was sinking deeper and deeper into a pool of blackness as he’d gotten closer and closer to his death. Even with the minimal help Jake and Mickey had been able to give him in the other universe he had known he had limited time left. 

 

What he hadn’t expected had been waking up again. One minute he had been consumed by blackness, and there was absolute nothing surrounding him. He couldn’t hear, he couldn’t see, think, breathe, feel or hear anything. The next minute he could hear Rose’s voice calling out his name. He’d held onto that voice like it was his lifeline, and it really was. He could smell the tea she’d brewed for him, and it had nearly brought a smile to his face that she’d remembered what to do from the last time she’d seen him regenerate. 

 

That smile fell from on his face as he looked around the room for where she’d put his clothes, but they were nowhere to be found. Scratching his head, he slowly walked- more accurately, he stumbled- toward Rose’s bedroom door, and out into the Tardis corridor to find his companion, having a good inkling as to where she might have been. 

 

Sure enough, after not even a minute of searching the corridors, he found her in the ship’s laundry room waist deep in one of the many driers he had on board. Seeing that she was oblivious to his arrival, he leaned against the doorframe, and crossed his arms over his bare chest as he waited for her to come out of the machine. 

 

When she finally did, she pulled out several familiar looking items of clothing. It was his suit jacket, his oxford, and the trench coat he loved so much from Janis Joplin. The sight of it brought a smile to his face, but the sight of him made her flinch as she realized he was there. 

 

“Doctor!” she cried, nearly dropping the clothes she held in her arms, “You’re up!”

 

The time lord gave her a nod, “Yeah, noticed you weren’t there, figured I’d find you here,” he told her, stepping closer, “Any luck with the stains?”

 

She looked down, swallowing before she answered him, “I got it out of your coat, but the suit… I’m sorry, Doctor,” She replied, tossing the suit jacket and oxford back onto the drier, and holding out the trench coat for him. 

 

Uncrossing his arms, the Doctor reached out, and took the coat from her, examining it thoroughly enough that he barely heard Rose’s quiet gasp. When the gasp registered in his mind, he looked up to find her staring at his chest. Following her gaze, he realized fairly quickly what she was looking at. 

 

On his chest were three white lines, one over each place he’d been stabbed by the ganger. He took a sharp intake of breath as he looked up at Rose as she stepped closer to him, her hand outstretched as she reached out to him. Crossing the space between them, she touched the scar just to the right of his left heart, running her fingers over the small bump created by it. 

 

“I saw this yesterday when I was cleaning you off,” she told him softly, tears brimming in her eyes, “But I… Every time I see it all I can see is…”

 

“I know,” he all but whispered, his hearts beating faster in his chest as she moved even closer to him, reaching up with another hand to touch the scar on his shoulder. 

 

As her fingers brushed against this second scar, he froze. Suddenly all he could see before him wasn’t the Rose he knew and loved, but it was the ganger. They weren’t in the Tardis laundry room, but they were at the end of that corridor in Torchwood Tower, still locked in their embrace from their last kiss as she held up a knife, and brought it down upon him mercilessly with a look of glee in her eyes. White hot pain shot through him, the memory almost as vivid as the real thing, even the sound of his own scream felt real. 

 

Out loud, the Doctor simply gasped, and pulled away from her, leaning against a nearby washer as the memory faded from the forefront of his mind. He closed his eyes briefly, then he looked down at the floor, and shook his head. 

 

“Doctor, what’s wrong?” Rose asked, reaching out for him, “Are you all right?”

 

The Doctor nodded, clutching the trench coat tighter in his hands, resisting the urge to answer through a clenched jaw, “I’m fine, I… I just need to find another jacket to replace the old one. I’ve got thousands, there’s bound to be one around somewhere.”

 

Rose backed away from him, nodding in understanding, “Yeah, I think I saw one when I was in the wardrobe earlier,” she told him, “It was right at the front.”

 

“Think I’ll look there, then,” he replied, looking briefly back up at her to see the heartbroken expression on her face. The sight of it brought a lump to his throat. He wanted nothing more than to rush back to her and apologize for pulling away. He wanted to take her into his arms and promise he’d never let go, but he couldn’t. When she’d touched him, he’d instantly been reminded of what happened to him, the most painful moment of his life she had served as a reminder of. With that pain so fresh, they were nowhere near ready to start their relationship. They were another galaxy away from ready. 

 

He turned to leave, then he stopped, and looked back at her, “Rose?”

 

“Yes, Doctor?”

 

“I’m sorry for everything, that I’m not ready, but you’re not either. You’re seeing me die, and I’m seeing you, well, the ganger kill me. We’ve got post traumatic stress, and we have to recover before we start anything.”

 

She gave him a nod, “I’m sorry, too,” she said shakily, “If I’d never gone out to get that bloody tool kit alone, none of this would’ve happened- hell, if I’d just never gone out at all…”

 

The Doctor looked at her in confusion. How could she actually think it was her fault? It had been him who’d let her go out in the first place. It had been him who hadn’t noticed she wasn’t herself for an entire month. If anyone was at fault aside from whoever this “Kovarian,” person was, it was him. “Rose, this isn’t your fault,” he told her, “Like I said, they were coming for me, you were just collateral damage to them.”

 

With that said, he made to leave again, when she stopped him with, “But what the hell happened to me at Torchwood Tower?” she asked him, “When you regenerated?”

 

He paused for a moment, “I have my theories, but the fact is that no human’s ever interfered with a regeneration the way you did,” he told her, “Or at all, in fact.”

 

“What are your theories, then?”

 

“Well, for starters no human’s ever taken in the time vortex either. I took it out of you, but I think it might’ve left traces in your mind, left it more open to taking on my regeneration energy.”

 

“But I can feel it throughout my entire body, Doctor, it’s like it’s… buzzing beneath my skin.”

 

Processing what she’d just told him, he nodded slowly, and ran a hand through his hair, “I’d like to run some tests later,” he said, gesturing vaguely to the lack of clothing on the upper half of his body, “You should be fine, but I need to be sure.”

 

“Me too,” she replied, then he gave her one last simple smile, and walked out of the room to find the ship’s wardrobe. 

 

As soon as he left her behind, he was racked with guilt. Surely he could fight through seeing the ganger when she touched him? He’d somehow managed to get past the images he’d see from the time war, but he was somehow struggling with the images of Rose’s ganger mortally wounding him. 

 

Perhaps it was because he was actually seeing the ganger’s face every time he looked at Rose. The fact that she would always be around, that she was now a reminder of what had happened to him, not only that, but what he’d done to them both in his ignorance, made it all the more painful. But she’d been the one to help him recover from the time war, and he was fairly certain she could help him recover from their encounter with the ganger, too. She was just that good. 

 

With a hint of a smile on his face, he pushed open the door to the wardrobe, and began searching for a replacement for the suit he’d lost.

 

Half an hour later, the Doctor emerged in another pinstriped suit that resembled his first one to the last thread complete with a new pair of chucks. He adjusted his tie, and headed down the corridor to the console room. It had been too long since he’d simply sat under the console tinkering with his ship.

 

Several hours passed as the Doctor worked beneath the ship’s grating, becoming completely lost in thought amongst the many wires and bits of machinery. The sound of the ship’s hums calmed him as he thought through every single moment of the past month, wondering just how the hell he’d missed it until the last possible moment. How she’d slipped right by him completely unnoticed. 

 

Looking back on that first night, the night it had all gone so horribly wrong, he calculated that it had taken him a mere twenty minutes to lose Rose. Twenty minutes from, “Nothing, I suppose,” to when the ganger first walked in with what he now knew to be a fake smile on her face, and he’d asked her where she’d been. He’d run through all of these thoughts in Torchwood Tower, but they’d been muddled with the pain he was feeling from his fresh stab wounds. 

 

Now he had a clear head. He was able to think about it anew, how he’d missed all the little signs. With Cassandra it had been obvious right away, yet with this ganger he hadn’t quite seen it until they stepped out of the Tardis in Torchwood’s warehouse. But this ganger was designed to be Rose, she had access to every single memory. Even when he had suspected her in the past she’d always passed the tests with flying colors because she was connected to the true Rose. 

 

But how hadn’t it been obvious to him when she’d held that wrench that first night? He’d only looked back at her for a second, his eyes landing instantly on the wrench in her hand, and his thoughts zeroing in on how that was what he needed. In hindsight, the memory became clearer, and he realized she was holding it above his head in a manner that was certainly threatening. She was prepared to kill him then and there, mere minutes after she’d first walked in. 

 

Their time together could’ve been a lot shorter, so why the hell did it take her an entire month to move on him?

 

“She was ordered to wait,” Rose’s voice announced, “There were problems with which of us had control over the ganger’s mind, and they didn’t want me to take over mid-kill.” 

 

That was when he realized he’d said that last bit out loud as he turned around abruptly, hitting his head on a steel beam as he moved to look at her. 

 

They both winced at the sound, but Rose was by his side instantly as his hand came to his head, “Ow,” he muttered.

 

“Are you all right?”

 

“Yeah, fine, it just hurts,” he said, “Not that bad though, definitely preferable to being stabbed.”

 

She looked down, and that was when he noticed the tear tracks staining her cheeks. She’d been crying, and recently, too. The tracks were still glistening from the freshness of the tears she’d cried. 

 

“Are  _ you _ all right, Rose?” 

 

The blonde nodded, sniffling as she wiped her cheeks with her thumb, and looked back up at him, “I want to say yes, but, I’m really not,” she told him, sitting down beside him, and fiddling with a nearby screw, “I couldn’t move, I didn’t have control of my body for an entire month. I’m still adjusting, I guess.”

 

“I’m sorry.”

 

“It’s not your fault, Doctor, and as I tell you this, I don’t want you to think that it was because of you. Do you get that?”   
  


He gave her a trite nod, and seeming satisfied, she began telling him her side of the past month. 

 

“I knew something was off when I went out to the Tardis,” she confessed, “I felt like I was being watched, but I brushed it off, thought I was overreacting. I went in, got your tool kit, and the second I came out, men with guns appeared. One of them told me to come with them, not to make a sound and all that… But I tried to run until they turned their guns on me, then I was knocked out,” she swallowed, and looked up to the ceiling, blinking back more tears, “That was the last time I would be on my feet until Mickey rescued me.”

 

Almost cautiously, the Doctor reached for her hand as he leaned back against the console centerpiece, speaking only after she’d taken it, lacing her fingers with his, “How many people?” he asked, “How many people did she kill?”

 

She shook her head, “You don’t want to know that,” she told him, “I know you, you’ll only blame yourself.”

 

He sighed, knowing she was right. There wasn’t going to be anything he could do to convince her to tell him what had happened when he wasn’t looking. “Was that where she went that first night? After she handed me the wrench?”

 

Rose gave him a nod, “Yeah, she went outside ‘cause she was feeling some sort of bloodlust, but she couldn’t kill you just yet, so she went outside, and she ran into a neighbor… Reyna Stalls, that was her name, and she got hold of one of the kitchen knives and she…” 

 

The Doctor tightened his grip on his companion’s hand slightly as her voice wavered, “Rose, I’m sorry you had to see that.”

 

“I had no chance to stop it. I was screaming at her the whole time in my head. I was begging her to stop, and I know she could sense it. And then she came back in, and knowing it would hurt me…”

 

“She kissed me.”

 

Rose looked at him solemnly, “She had access to all of my memories, she knew how to hurt me the most. She knew what I wanted, so she kissed you to get at me. Every kiss after that was the same thing in a way, it wasn’t just to keep her cover. She also thought you were a spectacular kisser, she bragged about it in every thought she had like she was digging it in. And that first night you told her how you felt about me…”

 

With the slightest of hesitation, the Doctor replied, “I should’ve said it sooner.”

 

There was a pause between them as his words hung in the air. He'd told her he wished it was her he'd told his feelings to. He'd made it clear how he felt about her. How he wished to be with her once they recovered from their ordeal. He'd never told her that he had been wanting to tell her since before the ganger had come into their lives. 

 

Before she could ask him about it, the time lord quickly deflected, and quickly moved out from under the Tardis grating, “Well, I did promise I'd figure out what happened to you at Torchwood later, and I think now constitutes later, don't you?” He asked as he reached a hand down for her. 

 

Sighing, she took the outstretched hand, and let him pull her up above the grating with him with a smile on his face. She said nothing as he led her into the ship’s med-bay, still lost in thought about what he'd just said to her. 

 

It wasn't until they were in the med-bay that either of them spoke at all as the Doctor led her over to a cot, causing her to joke, “Am I getting a checkup, Doctor?”

 

The time lord shook his head, “Nah, not quite,” he assured her, “I just want to see what it might've done to your systems, make sure everything’s healthy. You did say you could still feel it inside you.”

 

“Fair point,” she replied as he brought out a stethoscope from his pockets, “Check away.”

 

The Doctor gave her the faintest hint of a smile as he pressed the stethoscope to her chest, and the ear pieces to his ears as he listened to Rose’s single heartbeat. It was just that. A single, healthy heartbeat. There was nothing off with her cardio health at all, which was certainly a good sign. Perhaps his theory about her engagement with the time vortex was correct. Perhaps she'd be just fine. He hoped he was right.  _ Just this once,  _ he thought,  _ let me be right.  _

 

Putting away the stethoscope, he assured Rose that her heart was in good condition before he moved on to the rest of the exam. He checked her out as thoroughly as he could. Her vision was normal, hearing was normal, blood pressure was normal, and so forth. There wasn't a single thing wrong about Rose, and yet she could feel the energy from it buzzing beneath her skin.

 

“You know I've had time to think about the other stuff that happened at Torchwood One,” Rose told him as he was testing her reflexes. 

 

“Yeah?”

 

She gave him a nod, “I was thinking about how we left everyone, how  _ I  _ left everyone,” she said as the Doctor took out his sonic, and moved on to simply scanning her, “I had barely a minute to say goodbye. There was so much more I wanted to say to my mum, and I'll never see her again.”

 

Another thing that was his fault. Because of him, she'd been permanently separated from her mother, they'd never see each other again. She could never come home to anyone again. 

 

“But before you go blaming yourself, it was  _ my  _ choice, Doctor,” she promised him, resting a hand on his arm before he could sonic her further, “I chose to stay with you, and I would choose again in a heartbeat, but I just wish I'd had more time.”

 

Putting the sonic away, the Doctor ran a hand through his hair, “There's a significant amount of regeneration energy still inside of you, but it doesn't seem to be harming you. You're perfectly healthy, in fact… almost too healthy…” a silence fell on them, which was quickly interrupted by one of his classic subject changes, “Anyway, what if we could find a way for you to say goodbye, hmm?”

 

“How?”

 

“We may have closed the breach at Canary Wharf, but a breach that size takes a colossal amount of power to close,” he explained, “Chances are, there's still just enough open for us to get a message through. We won't be able to cross between the worlds again, but we’ll be able to talk to her.”

 

Rose nodded slowly, disappointed that she'd never see her mother again, but delighted that she would even get the chance to speak to her again after believing their trite goodbye days earlier was all she'd get for the rest of her life. She smiled weakly at him, “That's better than nothing,” she told him, “So, how do we find the little open bits?”

 

The Doctor stepped back, crossing his arms as he leaned against a nearby wall, “We'd need an enormous power source to break through the void, something I could tether the Tardis to and use its power…”

 

“Like what?”

 

He paused for a moment, “Rose, I think we're going to need to spend some time in the library.”

 

“You don't know?” She inquired, quirking a curious eyebrow as her signature tongue in teeth grin grew on his features, oh how she loved it when he didn’t know things. 

 

“Not yet, no.”

 

She laughed, a sound so different from the laugh he'd heard from the ganger over the past month. It was truly Rose Tyler’s laugh, and no one else could replicate it. Not even the most convincing of gangers. “Come on,” he said, gesturing to the med-bay door with his head before he walked out of the room. 

 

Rose followed quickly behind him as the two rushed into the library, finding herself nearly breathless by the time they reached the nonfiction section beyond the ship’s pool. She had run plenty during her harrowing adventure at Torchwood One, but she hadn't run like this with him in more than a month. It was like she was running with him for the first time again, and it felt both exhausting and exhilarating, just the way she remembered it. 

 

“So, what are we looking for, Doctor?” She asked him as he made a beeline for a nearby shelf, “How are we going to find this power source?”

 

He shrugged, “Just look for anything that generates massive amounts of energy, and I mean  _ massive, _ ” he told her, pulling an encyclopedia from a shelf, and flicking through the pages. 

 

“Like a nuclear power station?”

 

“Bigger, but nuclear power, there's an idea.”

 

Rose pulled out a book of her own from the shelf, “Can’t we just set the scanner to search for something like that?”

 

“We need to know what to search for.”

 

“Oh.”

 

The Doctor grinned at her as he flipped another page, “Well then, let’s get to work,” he said, pointing in the opposite direction, “You take that shelf, I’ll take this one, and we’ll search until we figure out a way.”

 

With a nod, Rose took the book she’d already grabbed in her hands, and headed to the shelf across the aisle from him before setting to work. 

 

Off and on for the next several days, the Doctor and Rose worked to find a power source that would be large enough to get a goodbye through to Jackie. Several times the time lord found his companion passed out by one of the many shelves using a book as a pillow. At least one of those times he’d carried her back to her bed, and then kissed her forehead before he left for the library again. 

 

The time lord didn’t sleep for several days. He wasn’t quite sure he could. The one time he did fall asleep when he and Rose were in the library, he was instantly plagued by nightmares. Some of the nightmares involved the time war, which he was fine with. That was just par for the course for him and he’d adjusted to it long ago. It was the ones involving Rose and the ganger that were making him not want to close his eyes again. He still needed time to adjust. It had only been a few days since their horrifying encounter. 

 

But after five days of searching through every book on a dozen or so shelves, the Doctor, tired and worn out, reached up, and pulled out a book on supernovas. Instantly, something clicked in his mind, and he raced toward the console room with the book in his hand, nearly colliding with Rose on his way out. 

 

He could hear her footsteps close behind him as he rushed toward the scanner, and began almost frantically entering commands into the machine. 

 

“What is it?” Rose was asking behind him, “What did you find?”

 

“I found a power source,” he told her, holding up a book, “Exploding star’s got colossal amounts of energy, more than enough for what we need. I could probably get you a few minutes to say goodbye with that sort of energy.”

 

The look of genuine glee on her face as she realized what he said sent his hearts beating twice as fast as they normally did, and the hug that ensued certainly didn’t help matters either. Her arms wrapped tightly around him, and his around her as they took part in one of their first embraces since they’d fallen asleep together in her bedroom days earlier. 

 

“Thank you,” Rose whispered into his ear as she pulled away, and the two turned to look at the scanner. 

 

“We should have a result in a few minutes,” the time lord told her, staring intently at the scanner as thousands of images flashed before his eyes, “No more waiting. By the end of the day, you’ll have said your goodbyes…” he paused, seeing the solemn look in her eyes, “If that’s what you want.”

 

“It is,” she told him, crossing her arms in front of her chest, “But I haven’t even thought of what to say. I’ve only got a few minutes to tell her goodbye.”

 

“It’s more than some people get.”

 

“Yeah, but… I should think about it.”

 

He gave her a nod, “Take as long as you like, scanner’s still searching for the right supernova.”

 

“Thank you, Doctor,” she replied, “Thank you for everything,” she added, then she walked out of the console room, and into the ship’s corridor. 

 

Once she was gone, the Doctor kept his eyes patiently trained on the scanner as he waited for it to show him some results. He could think of several powerful supernovas throughout time and space, but whether or not they would work he was uncertain. This was the only way he could be sure, and Rose Tyler deserved certainty after what she’d been through.

 

After another five minutes went by, a result finally showed up on screen. A massive supernova in the rose galaxy of all places putting out enough energy to punch a hole in the universe, though a much smaller one than that created by the Cybermen and the Daleks. 

 

“Rose!” he called out, then when he was greeted by silence, he called out for her again, “Rose!”  

 

There was a brief silence before he heard the distant sound of her footsteps growing louder and louder as she ran closer and closer to him. Not a moment later Rose burst into the console room, “Did you find one?” she asked, “Where is it?”

 

“Yep!” he cried excitedly, “It’s in the upper left quadrant of the rose galaxy.”

 

The blonde looked at him in disbelief, “Is it really called the…?”

 

“Yes, yes it is.”

 

The two exchanged a giggle before the Doctor turned his eyes back to the scanner, “Are you ready?” he asked, looking her firmly in the eyes to gauge if she had any doubts about what were going to do. 

 

She nodded, then she sighed, “I went to my room, and I thought about what I was gonna say…”

 

“And?”

 

“Nothing,” she told him, “I couldn’t come up with anything, so I figured I’d do what you would. I’d wing it.”

 

A small smile appeared on the Doctor’s features before he began entering in the coordinates to the supernova into the scanner, then he rushed around the console, and pulled a series of levers before they were off flying through the time vortex. Flying right to Rose’s final goodbye to her mother. 

 

A million emotions swirled in Rose’s mind as the Doctor tinkered about the console. She wasn’t quite sure how she was feeling. Was she sad that this was goodbye forever? Happy that she’d even gotten the chance to say goodbye? Was she regretful of the choice she’d made to stay with the Doctor? No, she certainly wasn’t that. That was the one decision she’d never regret. If she hadn’t stayed, he wouldn’t be alive anymore, not the way he was at least. She’d made the right choice.

 

“Rose?” the Doctor’s voice said softly, snapping her out of her thoughts, “I’ve tethered us to the supernova, we’re using its power to reach into Pete’s world, are you ready?”

 

It took her a second to find her voice, “Yeah,” she replied, “I’m ready. How do we reach her?”

 

“Call out to her with your mind,” the Doctor told her, “Think of every memory you have of her, of Jackie Tyler, your mother, what she looks like, the smell of her perfume, the fabric of her jumper, anything that reminds you of her, and call out to her.”

 

Rose nodded, and closed her eyes as she concentrated hard, calling out her mother’s name in her mind. For a moment, nothing happened, and frustrated, she opened her eyes, and looked up at the Doctor, “It’s not working,” she muttered, trying to disguise the slight bitterness in her tone. 

 

The Doctor wasn’t looking at her as she spoke, rather over her shoulder at something she couldn’t see facing him, and something that apparently didn’t please him. She turned around slowly to see what looked like a holographic projection of herself standing before her, and she gasped slightly in shock, “Is that?”

 

“It’s me,” the ganger replied, “I heard your message, so I told your family, and they took me out of my cell and we followed your voice here. Guess we’re still connected somehow.”

 

“Where’s my mum?”

 

“She’ll be here in a moment, I wanted to talk to you first,” the ganger replied, swallowing nervously as she brushed a piece of her hair behind her ears, causing Rose to notice for the first time that her hands were cuffed together, “I needed to apologize for what I did to you, to both of you.”

 

Rose said nothing as the ganger spoke, unsure of what to say. Could she forgive the ganger? Was she ready to forgive her if it was possible to? She wasn’t sure, but she was leaning toward not being ready, at least, not in the few minutes they had left together. 

 

“I wasn’t in control, I was programmed, and I can blame Kovarian and all those scientists all I want, but fact is I still did it,” she said, then her eyes widened slightly, “Wait, did he make it? Is he alive? Is the Doctor alive?”

 

Rose opened her mouth to speak, but it was the Doctor’s voice that answered her as he came to his companion’s side, “I don’t know, he seems a little dead to me,” he told her with a hint of a smile on his face. 

 

For the first time, the ganger looked genuinely relieved, tears springing to her eyes as she uttered out another apology, “I’m so sorry, Doctor, I really am. I didn’t… I don’t…” 

 

As the tears streaked their way down her cheeks, the Doctor shook his head, “You weren’t in control, this isn’t your fault,” he promised her, “It’s Kovarian’s. Who is she?”

 

“The woman in charge of the movement against you,” the ganger told him, sniffling as she wiped her tears from her cheeks, “She’s waging a war, an endless, and bitter war in an effort to stop you. She wants you dead, that’s why she created me. But I warn you, Doctor, I’m not her last effort. She will try again, and she will keep trying until she succeeds.”

 

The Doctor gave her a nod, “Thank you,” he replied, then he looked down at Rose, who was still staring at the ganger in a mixture of grief and scorn, “Now, if you don’t mind, we’ve got only minutes, and Rose wants to say goodbye to her mother.”

 

The ganger smiled limply, “Yeah, hold on,” she replied, then she walked away, and disappeared. 

 

A moment later, a holographic looking Jackie Tyler emerged before them, reaching out as if to embrace her daughter before she paused, “Where are you?” she asked, voice trembling slightly. 

 

“I’m inside the Tardis,” Rose replied, barely hiding a tremble of her own, “The Doctor said there's one tiny little gap in the Universe left, just about to close, and it takes a lot of power to send this projection. We’re in orbit around a supernova. We’re burning up a sun just to say goodbye.”

 

“But you look like a ghost,” Jackie told her, the coincidence of what had caused their separation nearly causing the Doctor and Rose to chuckle.

 

Rose looked at the Doctor, “Is there anything you can do?”

 

He took the sonic screwdriver out of his pocket, “Yeah, hold on,” he replied, aiming the sonic at the console, and pressing the button until the image of Jackie became crystal clear, like she was actually in there with them. 

 

“Can I?” Jackie asked, reaching up to touch her daughter. 

 

The Doctor shook his head, “I’m sorry, Jackie, but we’re just an image, no touch.”

 

“Can’t you come through properly?”

 

“According to him the whole thing would fracture, mum,” she told her, barely resisting the urge to burst into tears, “Two universes would collapse.”

 

“So?” Jackie joked, earning a weak chuckle from her daughter. 

 

Rose sighed as she came down from her laughter, “Mum, I miss you,” she told her, “I wish we had more time.”

 

“How much time have we got?”

 

“Two minutes,” the Doctor told them both, “We used up a minute talking to the ganger.”

 

“Well, it had to happen, she’s been depressed ever since she came here, she’s been stuck in a cell in Torchwood as penance,” Jackie replied, “I hate what she did, but… I’ve never seen someone so full of guilt or… what’s the word… remorse. And she was the only one who could hear your message. She said you were trying to contact me, but since you two were connected…”

 

“I connected to her instead.”

 

“Yeah.”

 

Rose swallowed back the lump that had started to form in her throat, “So, where did the gap come out? Where are we?”

 

“We’re in Norway,” Jackie said, “About fifty miles out of Burgen. It’s called Darlig Ulv Stranden.”

 

“Dalek?” Rose asked in alarm, certain she must’ve misheard her mother. 

 

“Dar _ lig, _ ” Jackie corrected, “It’s Norwegian for bad. This translates to Bad Wolf Bay.”

 

“You’re kidding me,” the Doctor breathed.

 

“No, I’m not,” Jackie assured him, “Is that important?”

 

The time lord shook his head, “No, nope, not at all, carry on.”

 

The shortest of silences passed between Rose and Jackie as the younger blonde thought of what the hell to say next, coming up only with, “I can’t think of what to say!”

 

“Well, I can,” Jackie said, placing a hand on her stomach, “Figured if it was our last chance to say goodbye, the least I could do was let you know you’re going to have a little brother.”

 

Rose’s eyes widened, “What?”

 

“I’m three months gone, scan says it’s a boy, so… a little brother.”

 

Rose was both thrilled and distraught. On the one hand, she had just learned her family was about to get a new member. On the other hand, she would never meet this little brother of hers, she’d never get to know him. They’d never get to bond like true siblings. The thought saddened her deeply as she looked on at her mother, “I wish I could meet him.”

 

Jackie reached out for her daughter’s hand, then remembering she couldn’t touch, pulled back, “Don’t you worry, love, I’ll tell him all about his big sister,” she assured her, “All about how she and her Doctor saved the universe, how they saved the world.”

 

Unable to fight the lump in her throat any longer, Rose let the tears fall from her eyes onto her cheeks, “He’s gonna have a great mum.”

 

The Tyler women both visibly choked back sobs, “Am I ever going to see you again?” Jackie asked.

 

“You can’t,” Rose replied, voice trembling as she spoke. 

 

“What are you going to do?”

 

Rose looked back at the Doctor, “What we’ve always done,” she replied, reaching her hand out for his, smiling as he laced his fingers with hers, “We’re gonna travel the universe, and sometimes save it.”

 

“How much time have we got now?”

 

“Less than a minute,” the Doctor told them, “Whatever you have left to say, make it quick, and Jackie?”

 

“Yeah?”

 

“Thank you.”

 

“For what?”

 

When the Doctor didn’t answer, Rose stepped in, and fighting the temptation to break down in sobs, she told her mother the one thing she knew she needed to say before they were separated forever, “Mum, I love you.”

 

“Oh, sweetheart, I love you, too,” Jackie said, then her lips parted to say something else, but the image faded away before she could finish what she wanted to say to Rose, leaving the two Tyler women heartbroken in two different universes.

 

The moment the image faded, any trace of bravery that Rose had shown in the face of the latest tragedy of losing her family forever faded, and a sob escaped her throat. Her hand flew to her mouth as more followed, and she doubled over as the pain overwhelmed her, leaving her on the verge of collapse. 

 

The Doctor’s arms were around her instantly, and she wrapped hers around him tightly as she held onto him. It wasn’t fair. She’d already almost lost the Doctor, now she had to lose her mother, her unborn little brother, and Mickey too? Not only them, but her second chance at getting to know her father was stolen from her as well, in part by the ganger. If it weren’t for Kovarian’s wicked creation, perhaps she could’ve gotten to know him. 

 

A fresh wave of despair washed over her, and she clung to the back of the Doctor’s jacket as she cried anew, “It’s not fair,” she groaned into his chest, “All of it, it’s not fair.”

 

The Doctor shushed her softly as one of his hands caressed the back of her skull, and his thumb softly stroked her hair, “I know,” he whispered, “I’m sorry, I’m so sorry.”

 

“Don’t apologize,” she replied, her sobs slowly becoming silence as she pulled away from him slightly, “I don’t regret staying with you. Am I gonna be sad that I’ll never see my mum again? Yeah, but I made my choice a long time ago, and I’m never gonna leave you.”

 

The three hearts of the two people in the room beat faster as a tension settled in the air, and the Doctor let out a shuddering breath, his eyes ghosting over Rose’s lips as they continued to hold each other. Slowly, he looked back up to her slightly reddened eyes to find them staring at him in anticipation, and she gave him the smallest of nods as his fell back down again. 

 

Almost cautiously, the Doctor began to lean down toward Rose, noticing that she was also moving toward him as they worked to meet in the middle. The distance between them grew shorter as the time lord’s eyes began to close in anticipation of the seemingly inevitable kiss, when suddenly, a flash of white caught his eye, and he stopped in his tracks. 

 

He backed away from her slightly as he turned his head to look at what he thought he’d seen out of the corner of his eyes, shocked when his eyes landed on a woman in a long, white gown, and a veil in her red hair, “What?” he cried out in disbelief. 

 

“What is it?” Rose asked, then she followed his gaze, and her jaw fell open as she too saw the mysterious woman. 

 

At the sound of their voices, the woman turned around, and gasped in shock when she saw them, “Oh!”

 

“What?” the Doctor repeated.

 

“Who are you?” the woman asked angrily.

 

“ _ What? _ ”

 

“Where am I?”

 

“What?”

 

“What the hell is this place?”

 

As the Doctor uttered one, final, “ _ What? _ ” he looked at Rose, who looked back at him with the same level of confusion as he was feeling as she wiped the tears from her cheeks..

 

“Here we go,” she breathed, reaching out a hand for his, grinning as he took it, and they continued their confused exchange with the Tardis’s new mystery passenger, ready to face the first step in moving on from their ordeal with the ganger. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Since it is the last chapter and this is finally done, it would be lit if y'all would share your thoughts. Thanks for reading.


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